


Duty Bound

by KFletcher



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2018-11-02 16:40:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10948521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KFletcher/pseuds/KFletcher
Summary: Squabbles between commonfolk of the two neighboring countries have grown more and more intense, and the armies of Abel and Maverick have started to get involved. Economies hurting and worried for the safety of their people, the governments have decided to take action in the form of an arranged marriage between their respective heirs in order to forge an alliance which will make these fights acts of treason.





	1. First Sight

Zero had not encountered this prince apart from a spare letter here and there, usually read aloud at some military or political meeting. Whenever invited along on journeys to neighboring countries he had always made it a point to decline. He had never been as interested in diplomacy as he had in the military, and preferred to keep it that way. He supposed that behind the elegant turns of phrase in those letters, he had pictured X to look like his father, King Light; portly and unassuming. Or perhaps a little pompous.

            He had also never expected that his first physical meeting with Abel’s royal heir would be as he was led up the future ally’s castle steps feeling like a lamb going to the slaughter.

            Prince Zero, without his usual fare of decorative armor, felt naked. Of course he understood that it was inappropriate at a formal allied banquet like this one, but as his carriage approached Abel he felt knots twist angrily in his stomach. _Like a slave to his master’s chambers_ , he thought bitterly. His hands found the edge of his tunic—shorter, and with lighter trim than he thought befitted someone of his rank—and he wanted to rip it. But his loyalty exceeded his anger, and he flexed his fingers and twisted his head to glimpse through the lace curtains. He could see the silhouettes of buildings in the distance, and when the carriage jostled and suddenly the horse’s hooves rang out as they landed on smooth stone, his suspicions that they were nearly to their destination were confirmed.

            His heart pounded and he could hardly hear by the time he felt the motion of the carriage begin to slow. The voices outside were a haze, but Zero recognized the sound of bugles announcing an esteemed guest. _Hardly_ , he thought, and had to dig his fingers into the plush of the carriage’s seat to stop himself from bunching them in his tunic and ruining the pristine fabric. He swayed as at last the vehicle came to a stop. Sparks of anxiety skittered through his veins as he reached up to adjust his crown. His fingers brushed the intricate swirl of braids he had been forced to wear, and he grimaced. As footsteps approached and the door at his side was drawn open, he took a few trained breaths. Then, he gritted his teeth and got to his feet, steeling himself for whatever was to come.

            A steward with a fine sash of Abel’s colors—blue and white—offered his arm to help Zero down from the carriage. The prince ignored his outstretched arm and descended the steep stairs without assistance. Before him a long row of servants and attendants stood with their heads bowed.

            He looked down the line to see more servants swarming around, some taking horses’ bridles to lead them to the stables, others greeting emissaries and helping them down to the pavement. A small entourage surrounded Zero’s own carriage, welcoming him smilingly and making way for him to walk along the carpet that had been unrolled to keep the prince’s boots clean. Zero cast a glance up at the castle’s towering white façade, glittering in the dusky evening sunlight, and stepped forward.

            Each stride away from the carriage seemed like tearing himself apart from everything he had ever held dear. His feet were heavy and sore despite the hours of rest in the carriage. It felt as though sturdy chains were strapped to his ankles—or was he now walking willingly into those chains? Lost in thought, it took Zero a moment to realize that the steward by his side had addressed him.

            “Your Highness, I will show you… Your Highness?”

            Zero shook his head and turned to look at the man. His smile had slipped somewhat, but he bowed respectfully and continued. “My apologies, Your Highness. Please forgive me. You must be tired after your long journey here.”

            Zero made a noncommittal sound.

            The steward cleared his throat. “I will show you to your chambers, where you can refresh yourself before the banquet. The royal family wished to give you time to prepare before greeting you. Your possessions arrived earlier today and have already been put in place for you.”

            Zero supposed he should probably give some sort of grateful comment, but he was beginning to feel somewhat sick. Instead, he simply nodded and followed the steward toward the massive double doors; carefully polished poplar wood with impressive silver hinges. As they stepped through the entrance, the interior, which had been covered in shadow, became visible.

            Torches in silver stands flanked another set of doors, through which a massive entry hall stretched far ahead. If it had not been before, it was now immediately obvious why Abel was getting what Zero considered the better end of the bargain in this alliance. Rich tapestries hung from banisters far above, and shields emblazoned with the Light family crest were hung carefully over delicate displays of fresh flowers. As Zero mounted the steps behind the steward, who turned to the left toward the spiral stair beyond a short row of colonnades, he saw a group of people on the far side of the hall. He drew to a halt suddenly as the realization clutched him that one of them, standing before a throne upon a low marble dais, was his future husband.


	2. First Impressions

Prince X, despite being smaller than average in height, held a certain commanding presence that seemed to reverberate throughout the massive room. From this distance, Zero could not make out his features, but he could see that the prince cut a regal figure. He was nothing like the image the Maverick prince had previously imagined.

            “Your Highness? Ah… Prince Zero?”

            Zero started and turned to the steward, who was looking increasingly distressed. The man ducked his head and apologized for calling the prince by his name, but Zero shrugged it off. He resisted glancing back at his fiancé, who was so wrapped up in his conversation that he didn’t seem to notice the prince and steward. Feeling shaken, Zero followed quickly behind his guide.

            The spiral staircase wound upward, past a landing that entered onto a terrace over the great hall, and up to a long gallery. They passed several silver-framed paintings and a coat of arms with a crest of sapphires on its helmet before turning off to a set of chambers. Zero presumed that these were used only for royal guests, judging by their decadent décor. Heavily upholstered couches and lounge chairs rested atop plush carpets in the sitting room, and the tile of the washroom was polished and inlaid with crushed opal in a subtle rainbow of colors.

            The steward left him alone at last, after bringing his attention to the bells used to call servants and noting the wardrobe where his clothing had been stored. The rest of Zero’s possessions, he said, would be coming the following day. Opening the wardrobe to see his finery already freshly pressed and arranged as it had been at home, Zero sucked in a breath and looked down at the rug beneath his feet. It was unfamiliar, and the juxtaposition between his old clothing and the foreign environment had his head spinning. The scent of the whole place was different, too. The longer he stood leaning against the door of the wardrobe, the more frustration boiled in Zero’s chest. Everyone around him was different as well. He had never been one to make close friends, but his generals may as well have been, and now he doubted he would see them more than once a year, and only if he was allowed to request their presence. The terms of the betrothal did not grant Zero power as a ruler or co-ruler in Abel, even if X were to ascend to the throne. Obviously, Abel officials didn’t want Maverick to have power in both countries. He thumped his fist against the wardrobe.

            A long session of pacing came after that. Zero ached to take his sword and work through drills until his shoulders hurt, but he had no idea where the castle soldiers trained here, and even if he did, his sword was still back home in Maverick. _Home_. Zero snorted. He tried to tell himself that perhaps this place could eventually be like home, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

            Eventually, the pacing gave way to exhaustion, and Zero hesitantly wandered over to the canopied bed. He ran a hand over one of the tasseled curtains tied back around the bedpost. It looked new. Little flourishes of flowers had been picked carefully into the design of the textile. Zero followed one with his finger, realizing with a pang that despite sleeping on it for years, he couldn’t remember what pattern had decorated the curtain of his bed in Maverick.

            He climbed into the bed, fell upon the covers, and buried his face in the pillows.

            Zero didn’t manage to sleep in the time before there was a knock at his door. Groaning, he sat up and called out for whoever it was to enter. It wasn’t the steward, but a tousled manservant.

            “Your Highness,” he said hurriedly, bowing and then gesturing to the wardrobe, “I was told to come and help you get ready for the banquet, Your Highness.”

            Zero blinked in confusion a few times before remembering that his Maverick servants had resisted the request that they be transferred to Abel with the prince. He grimaced. One servant surely would have been sacked for such behavior, but when the whole of them pleaded that their families would have difficulty settling in a different city, they were allowed to stay. Zero had wanted to shout at them— _he_ would have difficulty settling in a different city as well.

            The servant hesitated and a concerned look unfolded on his face. Zero shook his head, hastily arranging his features into a more neutral expression.

            “Yes, yes. You’re a manservant? What is your name?”

            “Axl, Your Highness,” he said, perking up again. He took a step toward the wardrobe. “What would you like to wear?” he asked.

            Zero grunted and climbed off of the bed, watching the servant. He was remarkably young to be at his apparent rank, unless Abel was paying Zero quite an insult.

            Axl, meanwhile, was sifting through Zero’s more ornate apparel, commenting on the various colors. “This one must match your hair so well,” and, “What a beautiful textile; would you like this one?” Finally, he drew out a deep burgundy tunic with long, billowing sleeves, golden trim, and copper godets slashed dramatically between the pleats in the skirt. Zero knew that it caused quite an effect, showing the fiery color as the fabric swayed when he walked. He thought that it was a little gaudy, but on this occasion it would actually be a perfect statement. His mouth twisted up into a wry smile. If he wore this, everyone would know that he was not going to be a demure, accommodating trophy.

            “That’s perfect,” he said.

            Axl smiled, apparently unaware of the stir that his choice might cause, and began helping Zero out of his travel clothes.

            After slipping into the tunic, Zero picked out a set of garnet jewelry set in gold to complement the outfit, and let Axl tuck stray hairs back into his braids. “They used to let me pin my hair up when it was longer,” the servant explained, placing a pin carefully under Zero’s crown. “But as I got older it just wouldn’t stay where I put it, and they made me shave it.”

            Zero pretended to listen to the servant as he watched himself in the mirror, now much more excited to go to the banquet. It was meant to be a light welcoming dinner, but Zero knew that his first impression would mean everything, and this would certainly show the Abel royalty that he was a force to be reckoned with. Just the first impression he wished to give.

            The steward reappeared to show Zero to the dining hall. The room was a towering thing, with intricate fan vaults in the ceiling and three sturdy chandeliers casting a glow over the place. Maverick rarely had such finery; it was considered dangerous should the castle be attacked. The table was covered with a long, embroidered cloth and shimmering dishware reflected the light of silver candlesticks set beside the centerpiece; a wreath of calla lilies surrounding a dish of glass fruit.

            Zero nearly balked at the decorations—out of both awe and disgust—but kept his mouth shut when he realized that the royals standing nearby had noticed his presence. They stepped away from one another to welcome him. Zero took in their expressions. King Light, whom he had seen before, was smiling with the usual twinkle in his eye, but it was a tight sort of smile as his eyes swept over the outfit Zero had chosen. A little swell of vindication made Zero grin. The two women nearby had similar or warier expressions, and the man beside them even eyed him with outright disdain on his face. Then Zero saw X.

            The prince looked at him with a somehow gentle gaze—almost sad, and it was so genuine that X felt a hot rush of anger tinge his cheeks. He turned away to hide it, looking pointedly at the king.

            “My dear Prince Zero, what a pleasure to have you with us at last,” the king said, and gestured to the people around him. “No doubt you’ll be familiar with your new family in time. This is Duke Sigma, and Duchesses Iris and Alia. And, of course, our Prince X.”

            The members of the royal family inclined their heads or curtsied as they were introduced; X bowed with a small smile. Zero bent stiffly in return, still resenting the earnestness in the prince’s expression. They expected Zero to swoon over him, he knew that much, and he wasn’t going to do it.

            How he made it through dinner without breaking something, he would never know. Nervous anger made his hands shake, especially after the conversation turned to the state of affairs in the outskirts of the two countries. Zero made sure to voice his opinions on the matter; after all, it was why this entire engagement had been instated. A series of small squabbles and an overabundance of robbers had led to larger and larger scuffles between farming communities on the border. Eventually the scuffles had begun to involve the armies, and before either government had realized it a small war had broken out, with petitions on both sides for aid from the royal treasury. By that time, attempts to quell the rebellions diplomatically were met with outrage among civilians and soldiers alike. The plan was for the wedding to mark a new alliance between the two kingdoms, and this would make the fights acts of sabotage upon an ally, which called for severe punishment. Zero felt that the whole thing could have been fixed with a heavier hand in the military. Why not stop the rebellions with force if force would be used in some part later on anyway?

Then, as was inevitable, the topic turned to plans for the wedding. It was to be in two months’ time. Iris’ demeanor changed abruptly, and she talked excitedly of the preparations being made. Zero wasn’t listening. _Two months_. He realized that up until that time, some part of him had been expecting everything to be called off for some reason or another, or that perhaps he could make it stop somehow. But he wouldn’t, and he knew he wouldn’t. He was duty bound to this, for the sake of his people. He glanced up at X, who was smiling pleasantly at Iris as she spoke, but his eyes slid over to meet Zero’s when he felt him looking. He blinked, and his smile softened. Zero grit his teeth. This was the man who would soon take away all his power.

            Alia was the first to excuse herself as the evening drew on, saying that she was quite full and this was all very exciting. Iris followed. Not wishing to appear completely indecorous, Zero waited for Sigma to leave before excusing himself politely as well. When he stood, however, he heard X do the same, and the prince followed him out of the dining hall. Zero faltered in the doorway as a whole canvas of options was presented before him, and none of them seemed appealing.

            “I thought that your points on the effect of these incidents on our manufacturing economy were quite well-put,” came a soft voice beside him. Zero hunched his shoulders in irritation.

            “Well, I’m quite grateful that the future king finds my opinions so intriguing, although ultimately incorrect,” he said, letting his frustration edge into his voice. He didn’t look at the prince as he strode across the entrance hall toward the spiral stairs.

            X kept pace with him despite his height. “I was going to say that there would certainly be more damage dealt to the economy should violence threaten the same manufacturers,” he said mildly.

            Zero gave a sarcastic smile. “I suppose that in the end, it’ll all be up to you, won’t it?”

            X drew up short, but Zero did not. He continued on up the stairs and to his chambers. He shut the door with a hearty _slam_ , rang the bell for Axl, and tugged ferociously at the pins in his hair. By the time his manservant arrived, Zero’s braids were tangled and the prince’s fingers were bleeding from the sharp ends of the hairpieces.


	3. Violets and Daisies

The floral pattern of the canopy glared down at Zero. He glared right back, eyes itching and muscles aching. Thoughts whirred around and around in his head, thoroughly stamping out any possibility of sleep. The prince had kicked off the silky covers long ago and now lay spread-eagle on the bed. He replayed the conversations of the evening over and over again, from King Light’s introductions to his own biting comments at his fiancé, analyzing every comment and inflection he could remember. X had been so soft-spoken through the whole dinner… no doubt the whole table had been waiting for the two of them to exchange even one word, and it hadn’t happened. Zero found himself wondering if X’s sad expression had been due to the flashy tunic he had picked out. Was he disappointed?

            Zero fisted a hand into one of the pillows and threw it over his face. Was it not his goal to disappoint the prince? Frustrate his plans to have Zero under his thumb? Yet the look in his eyes had been so sincere… What could he have been expecting out of the Maverick prince?

            _It doesn’t matter_ , Zero thought angrily. _I’m not here to fulfill their expectations_.

            He wanted his sword. He wanted his generals and his soldiers to drill with. The thought that he might not be allowed to practice with Abel’s army hit him again like a heavy book to the chest, and he clutched at the pillow. He wouldn’t allow it.

            By the time sunlight came filtering in through the layers of curtains over the window, he hadn’t slept at all.

            Axl arrived bearing a tray with a letter from Prince X. Bristling, it took every ounce of Zero’s composure not to tear the thing apart when he took it.

 

                        _Prince Zero,_

_I have been informed that your possessions are arriving from Maverick this morning. I thought that it would make for an excellent opportunity to acquaint you with the castle and grounds._

_I will come to meet you at nine o’clock._

_Cordially,_

_Prince X._

 

            Zero sucked in a breath, fingers clutching the letter until it began to crumple. Luckily the manservant was already examining the set of jewelry he had set out the night previous, not paying any attention. Zero smoothed the letter on his lap and replaced it on the tray, then stood to get ready for the day. He barely heard Axl’s polite but chattering conversation. X hadn’t given him a choice whether or not to go along with this particular game, and that had Zero fuming all morning and through breakfast, which he elected to remain in his room for.

            At the appointed time, Zero waited in his sitting room, picking at the edge of his short surcoat. Today he had chosen to wear his darkest attire to suit his mood. When he received X, however, he regretted that decision.

            The Abel prince smiled in a long tunic of deep blue silk. Tiny diamonds played at the patterns which ran down the sleeves and front, winking in the light streaming in through the window. The sleeves were laced at the ends with cord that might as well have been woven from silver, and his boots were a smart black. A cluster of diamonds matching those on X’s tunic dangled below his right ear. He looked like the night sky incarnate.

            A power play. Zero felt his face growing hot with rage.

            “I fear that I offended you last night,” said the prince, bowing just as he had before dinner. “Please allow me to apologize. I brought this for you.”

            He held out a small assortment of flowers, tied with white ribbon into a corsage.

            “How thoughtful,” said Zero stiffly, taking the corsage. He retreated to his room to put it on his nightstand, refusing to wear something the prince had picked out for him. He lingered for a moment, examining the choice of flowers. Violets, arranged around a spray of daisies. Zero’s brow furrowed, and he wished that he had his books—or time to look at them—because he had long forgotten his brief studies in floral language.

            X didn’t say much as they made their way down the hall, travelling away from the spiral staircase Zero had become accustomed to. They stopped at a set of oak-paneled double doors as his fiancé tugged them open.

            “This is the library,” said the prince.

            “So I would suppose,” responded Zero, looking at the towering shelves of books that surrounded them. He spoke with every ounce of sarcasm he could muster. X didn’t look at him, but Zero thought he saw his lips twitch, and scowled.

            “Well, the roster for anyone borrowing books, including myself, is there.” X gestured to a desk near the door, where a catalogue lay open with a quill pen beside it. “Let us move on.”

            The morning continued in a similar fashion, with X speaking only to introduce rooms and Zero giving clipped responses. They made their way through the second and third floors of the castle, through a warm study, a chapel, an indoor courtyard, and even a dovecote. Finally they came to a slim staircase that wound steeply downward and opened into a hallway which Zero presumed led to the cellar. Instead of following the hall, however, X turned left and pushed open a door before stepping aside to let Zero through first.

            His feet found freshly-cut grass and he immediately regretted wearing so much dark clothing. The sun was high in the sky by that time, and it was a sweltering summer day. The heat did not help his exhaustion. X took him around the side of the castle to a sprawling set of gardens—Zero had never been one to spend idle time in Maverick’s gardens, but he let himself admit that Abel’s were much more appealing. Trappings like fountains, cobbled footpaths, and statues added to the pleasant atmosphere. He found himself wondering which bush of violets X had taken the corsage from, then shook his head. The prince was two steps ahead of him, and he glared at the back of his head. No amount of gifts or false charm would change the fact that Zero had been plucked from his homeland and everything he loved to be placed here at a strange man’s mercy.

            He was shaken from his reverie as he realized that X was looking at him expectantly. He followed the line of the prince’s arm as he pointed and found, in the distance, a set of training fields. Glints of light flashed every so often as soldiers sparred and shouts echoed faintly across the grounds. Zero’s heart jumped and he hurried to get a closer look. Dimly, he could make out an instructor circling the pairs of drilling militia, and he ached to be in that place again. His chest constricted at the thought that as the prince’s pet that may never happen again. Was X taunting him?

            He whipped around to make some biting remark when X spoke. “I heard that you are quite a soldier, so I had planned to arrange a meeting with Captain Signas to see what position you could take among our ranks. You were captain of Maverick’s army, were you not?”

            “I…” Zero stared at him, baffled. “Wouldn’t it be against Abel’s best interests?”

            X tilted his head, expression puzzled. “I don’t think I understand.”

            Zero swallowed. “Having the Maverick prince in your army would be considered dangerous to your plans.”

            “I don’t believe so. You _are_ our ally, after all, and soon you will be just as much a part of this kingdom as I am.”

            Zero gave a voiceless “Oh,” and looked back to the fields.

            Shortly after that, the lack of sleep began to catch up to Zero. He trailed along behind his fiancé, little comprehending anything he said or where they were going. When they somehow turned up in the dining hall for lunch with the other royals, he stood up straight in surprise, inwardly bemoaning his now rumpled attire and sweat-slicked hair. Zero couldn’t bring himself to care much, though—he could barely hold on to the string of conversation as it was. His eyes ached to close and his head felt heavy. X had elected to sit across from him again, leaving him next to Alia, who picked at her food and, for the most part, ignored him for Iris.

            Just as the luncheon was drawing to a close, King Light leaned forward.

            “You’ve been quiet today, Prince Zero. I had heard that you and Prince X were touring the castle today. Have you enjoyed yourself so far?”

            Zero jerked up and nodded automatically. X cast him a surprised look.

            “He was enamored of the training fields,” the prince chirped. “When will Captain Signas return from his visit to the outskirts? I would like to introduce the two of them as soon as possible.”

            “What for?” Duke Sigma interjected. Zero turned to see that the whole table was now looking at them, and the hand not holding his fork clenched into a fist.

            “Prince Zero would make a welcome addition to Abel’s army,” said X amiably. “I have heard much of his strength.”

            “As have I,” replied Sigma. “Perhaps our prince should consider the consequences of such an action.”

            X put down the bite he had been about to take and leaned back in his chair. “You suppose that I haven’t already?”

            “I only meant to recommend caution. After all, Prince Zero has already expressed opposition to your plans for the military.”

            Zero glanced at King Light, but the old man was watching X with some interest. The prince’s expression remained neutral, but a light flush was blossoming on his cheeks.

            Sigma smiled. “One wouldn’t wish to grant too much privilege to a potential threat.”

            A rush of anger slammed into Zero, so strong that he almost stood and shouted at the duke. He managed to squash it, both hands shaking with fury as he looked at his plate. He knew that if he so much as made eye contact with anyone in the room he would fly into a rage and inevitably do something he would regret.

            “Remember your place, Sigma,” said King Light.

            The table went silent after that.

            After a long, uncomfortable pause, the two duchesses excused themselves. Zero did the same, standing without looking at anyone, and stalked rigidly from the dining hall.

            He wanted nothing more than to have space to himself, but when he reached his chambers he found that his door was thrown wide open and servants bustled around inside, arranging his things. A stack of cases was piled in the hall, waiting to be moved within. Zero took a deep breath and resisted kicking them. He kept on walking and pulled open the door to the library. Relieved to find nobody within, he closed the door behind himself and shut his eyes, rubbing a hand over his forehead. All his tiredness was gone now, replaced by indignant anger. _Potential threat_. So that was all they saw him as.

            And X hadn’t even defended him. Zero was surprised to find that that wounded him most of all. Perhaps he thought that Sigma was right. Zero scowled and strode over to the nearest shelf, looking over books without seeing their titles. Sigma had described the army as a _privilege_. Not a right, not a responsibility. Like he was nothing more than a child being permitted a toy sword. He could practically see X handing it to him, telling him to be careful and not hurt anyone with it.

            He snorted, and his eyes fell on a book that had been left away from the others, a handkerchief holding the place of whomever had been perusing it. Curious and glad for the distraction, Zero cast a glance toward the door and then moved over to the tome. He lifted it and examined the title. _The Etiquette of Courtship and Romance_. Brow furrowing, he turned to the page marked with the handkerchief and blinked. It was a section on flower language.

            Zero’s mind jumped back to the freshly-picked corsage X had given him earlier that day. Had the prince consulted this book before putting it together? He glanced down the page to find that, indeed, the book had been open to a small section on violets.

            “ _This flower grows low to the ground, hiding its blossom beneath its leaves. Thus it symbolizes timidity and humility. In an arrangement describing romantic feelings, it can also be used to represent chaste affection._ ”

            The angry flame in Zero’s chest guttered. He flipped back one or two pages, fingers fumbling, before finding anything on daisies.

            “ _Its petals close at night, indicating purity and loyal love._ ”

            The door behind Zero opened. He jumped and slammed the book shut, throwing it back on the shelf before turning around to find X in the portal, looking distressed.

            “I couldn’t find you,” he said, taking two steps toward Zero before stopping. “I… I didn’t mean for Sigma to say such things about you at lunch. It was out of line, especially before my father and the duchesses.” He drew in a breath. “Duke Sigma, I mean.”

            Zero’s mood soured again and he turned away. “Well, wasn’t he right? Aren’t I a threat to you?”

            X didn’t speak for a time. Zero looked back to find him staring at the carpet.

            “Why would you say such a thing again?” he asked softly.

            “Perhaps because you wouldn’t defend me,” Zero snapped. “I was told that you are a tactician, yet you allow a duke to slander your future husband before the king. Do you believe him?”

            “I must listen to every side of an argument,” said the prince, looking smaller by the minute.

            Zero’s nails dug into the heels of his palms and he shut his eyes. “I see,” he said, voice quivering with outrage. “So much for ‘loyal love’, then.”

            “I… what?”

            “ _This!_ ” Zero shouted, snatching up the book again and waving it in X’s face. “ _Courtship and romance_.” He scoffed. “I have to marry you whether I want to or not, so if you can’t even endorse my honor then don’t bother lying about your feelings to soften the blow. You don’t know me or trust me, so how could you love me? Get out. _Get out!_ ” He thrust the book at X’s chest and turned his back on the prince, fuming. After a moment’s pause, he heard footsteps on the carpet, and the door closed. Zero threw himself on a nearby couch and buried his face in his hands.

He must have fallen asleep that way, because he soon found himself dreaming—dreams of the wedding. His head felt light, like his crown was missing, but he realized that he couldn’t move his arms to check. Zero looked down to see that he was in shackles. The people around him didn’t seem to notice, or if they did, they weren’t in the least bit perturbed. The ceremony went on just like any other wedding he had attended, despite his bonds. He looked out at the crowd to see his generals, his father, and even his servants. They all smiled contentedly as X slipped the wedding band on Zero’s finger, lifting up his hands as though the chains didn’t even exist.

The prince woke with a start, throat tight with the ghost of a shout and cold sweat sticking his hair to his forehead.


	4. Truth and Lies

The next two and a half weeks passed without any word from X. Zero drifted through the days avoiding meals where he could and staying in his room to keep away from the other royalty as well. When he did show his face at the dining table, X never looked up from his plate or spoke unless addressed directly. Captain Signas still hadn’t returned to the castle, but Zero realized that nothing would change even when he did. After his argument with his fiancé and Sigma’s opposition, Zero had resigned himself to never wielding a sword again.

He wondered how long this would go on for. He even found himself wishing for an end to the monotony.

That end did eventually come, like a sudden frost after a warm autumn.

Zero had grown accustomed to the lack of sleep that came with the unfamiliar bed and occasional nightmares. The silence and privacy that came with the nighttime despite the long hours spent lying in bed awake was a welcome respite at this point.

One night, after Zero had pled ill and stayed in his room all day, he once again sat awake, drained and exhausted but unable to sleep. He was just considering getting up to read when suddenly he heard the soft _click_ of his door opening. His heart jumped and he held his breath, listening. Footsteps met his ears, so quiet that he was almost certain that he was inventing them in his mind.

Zero’s chest constricted with a sudden rush of fear as the tone of the footsteps changed, hitting the wooden floor of his bedroom. He squinted through his lashes, careful not to move his head. A figure crouched at the far side of the room, moving toward him.

Zero leaped out of bed with a great shout and bolted for his desk. His head spun as he snatched up a letter opener and whirled to face the silent predator.

The figure was almost upon him now, leaping forward in a whirl of dark fabric. Zero caught a glimpse of a sharp, curved blade streaking through the air just before throwing himself to the floor to avoid being cut by it. He scrabbled to grab his assailant’s leg and drag him down; a loud _thump_ echoed in the room as the man fell. Zero shouted for help again and jabbed with his letter opener, only to find hard protective armor beneath the man’s robes.

The door burst open and Zero heard someone cry out and come running inside as he struggled to hold the man down and avoid the sweeping slashes of the blade.

“Zero! Get behind me!”

Zero held his hands out and looked wildly up to see Axl, longsword in hand, fighting toward him. Bemused, the prince slipped and stumbled as he tried to get to his feet, impeded by  his nightgown. Axl seized the strange man from behind as he lashed out at Zero, only just missing his head.

Freezing, Zero stared at the ensuing scuffle. The man twisted and writhed in Axl’s grasp, and managed to break free before turning and attacking him. Axl caught the man’s blade with his own in the moment before it would have hit him. He growled as the two crossed bladed sent sparks into the air, shaking as each man pushed harder and harder. They inched toward Axl’s face. Zero thought that his defender’s grip would give out as the swords sliced two cuts into the bridge of his nose, but Axl bellowed and lunged forward, sending the other man crashing to the ground, dagger flipping through the air to land, quivering, in the rug. Zero scrambled to his feet, seized the blade the man had dropped, and tugged it from the floor.

Later, he wouldn’t be able to recall the subsequent struggle, but he knew that in a matter of moments, he stood over the man with the stolen blade dripping crimson and shoulders heaving.

“Zero… Oh, God…” Axl gasped, dropping his sword and covering his face with his hands. “I’m so sorry. I was assigned to protect you and I nearly failed, oh, God…”

Shuddering with adrenaline, Zero placed a numb hand on the desk to steady himself. He barely registered the sound of footsteps and voices as more people rushed inside, swarming around Axl and the prince, raining down questions and shrieks of confusion or fear. Zero was eventually bundled off to the hospital, where he was immediately given some sort of tonic which put him into a deep sleep.

Zero woke slowly, feeling as though his head was more a bowl of soup than anything else. Through closed lids he could see that it was daytime, but the room around him was more or less silent. Blinking groggily, he gradually focused to see the muted patterns of the hospital’s folding screens. He rolled onto his back and started when another person came into his vision; X, slumped upon a chair nearby. As the prince heard Zero shifting, he looked up, and Zero saw that his eyes were puffy and red. He stood and fled before Zero could even attempt to open his mouth and speak.

A physician entered soon after, sporting traditional white robes edged with green trim. He checked Zero’s temperature and breathing before letting him get to his feet and delivering the message that he was to visit King Light in his solar. Zero’s stomach dropped, but he nodded and plodded his way out of the hospital.

The king’s solar was a spectacular thing, with a fireplace of its own and a massive Abel crest hung on the wall alongside a wreath of preserved flowers. Light looked up from his desk as Zero entered.

“Ah, Prince Zero. It’s good to see you up and about. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chair on the opposing side of his desk and folded his hands. A small smile lifted the corners of his beard, but his eyes were tired. Zero edged into his seat unhappily and tugged on the edge of his sleeve.

“Lieutenant Axl informed me that he told you about his true identity,” said the king.

“Yes. He said that he had been stationed to protect me.”

King Light nodded. “We hope that you will forgive us for this small deception. Actually, it was Prince X’s idea. He felt that you would be more comfortable without a formal guard outside your door. Axl was chosen for his youth—he is the same age as you and X—but also for his prowess. He is among our most elite soldiers.”

Thinking back to the way Axl had wielded his blade and the immense strength it must have taken to throw off an attacker at such close range, Zero nodded. Perhaps on another day, the thought that he had been lied to would have given him pause, but at the moment he was too tired and shaken to care.

“Of course we will understand if you choose to dismiss the lieutenant in favor of a genuine servant. In that instance we will have to station a guard by your chambers.”

Zero shook his head. “I… if Axl wishes to stay… He is a competent fighter.”

Light chuckled. “If his skills as a manservant are not too poor to bear, he has volunteered to continue on in the current fashion if you would have him.”

Zero nodded weakly. It was dawning on him that Axl was the only friend he felt he had in this whole place, even if he barely spoke to the man. At least the lieutenant didn’t seem perturbed by Zero’s silence or selfishness. The prince had paid so little attention to his supposed manservant that it hadn’t occurred to him that his skills might be inadequate.

“Well, that settled, there is another matter of business of which I must inform you.” King Light sighed and shifted in his chair. “The man who attacked you last night was an assassin named Vile. I, for one, am relieved that Axl was quick enough to come to your aid. Vile has led to the deaths of too many officials and even royalty. Unfortunately, we have no leads as to who could have let him into the castle.”

Numbly, Zero just continued nodding. He had heard of Vile more than once before. He had even personally attended the funeral of a woman who died at his hand.

“It is no small triumph that Vile is now no longer a threat. However…” he cleared his throat and leaned back, lacing his fingers together over his stomach. “There has been some… apprehension brought to light by this attack. Regarding your stay in the castle.”

Zero’s heart stopped. “You want me to leave?” he choked.

“Nothing of the sort.” The king waved his hand. “But the fact that you play the key role in Abel’s alliance with Maverick has painted you as a target. There are many who would seek to do you harm in the hopes of preventing it. Some believe that this makes you a danger to others around you. As such… I fear that it would be unwise to allow you to train with the army at this time.”

The words echoed around in Zero’s head as though they had been shouted. His heart sank, but he admitted bitterly to himself that he had been trying to tell himself this for weeks. He’d allowed himself to get his hopes up because of X’s words, but all the same some part of him had known all along that it was a futile hope.

“After there has been time to quell the insurgence we can rethink matters, Zero. Your fiancé and I both believe that it would be a terrible shame to leave such a venerated captain without his sword and soldiers.”

By this point all the snapping back and forth between despair and relief had Zero exhausted. He slumped in his chair and nodded again, wishing that he could just return to his room and sleep.

It was only when he was halfway across the castle that he realized, according to the king, X had apparently still wanted him to have a place in the army. His head ached as he remembered the expression on the prince’s face when he had woken up in the hospital. He had hidden himself immediately after, too… Zero fisted his hands into the fabric of his tunic’s skirt, recalling the accusations he had thrown at his fiancé weeks previous. He had been carrying them around as a matter of course, assuming that since X had never come back to defend himself, it meant Zero was ultimately correct. But staying by his bed in the hospital, crying… it didn’t make sense.

Heart heavy, Zero knew that he would ultimately be unable to sleep despite how his eyes itched and his limbs dragged. He rubbed a hand over his face and turned off to head down the stairs to the grounds—fresh air sounded like a welcome respite after the stuffy solar. He descended the steep staircase slowly, muscles screaming against him, and grimaced. It wasn’t the satisfying soreness that came after hours of practicing on the field, that much was certain.

Zero was about to round the corner and go out the small door onto the path to the gardens when he heard voices. Slowing to a halt, he peeked around down the hall to the cellars and spied two figures huddled closely together, speaking in hushed tones. Zero hurriedly jumped back behind the corner, listening to their whispered conversation. His stomach twisted when he realized that one of the voices belonged to Prince X.

“… this. I’ll say that I lost it during the hunting trip later today. I melted the sigil…”

That was X. His voice dropped even further. Zero crouched, covering his mouth to silence his breathing, and strained his ears to hear the end of his sentence.

“… blacksmith to take out the gems for you and sell them it can sustain you for a few months, I think.”

“God bless your soul. How can we repay you?”

“Don’t, please. It’s the least I can do.”

“My daughter owes her life to you.”

“She owes it to her brave parents. What have you decided to name her?”

“We thought about Tamsyn, after your father’s first name…”

Zero’s heart pounded.

Suddenly a door somewhere on the other side of the cellars opened and Zero heard footsteps rushing toward his hiding place. He jumped up, hands shaking, and turned to dash back up the stairs.

“Zero?”


	5. Antidote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry for the long break between chapters. I've been struggling to find motivation to write. But, I do have several scenes from upcoming chapters already written, so I hope that I can finish them sooner! Thank you for your support!

Blood seethed in Zero’s ears. He wavered between running and staying to face the prince, but time caught up to him before he had time to think. He couldn’t feel his feet on the stairs as he climbed, when suddenly a hand grasped his wrist and he jolted to a stop. A flash of surprise went down his spine as he realized that this was the first time X had ever touched him.

He quickly put that thought away to consider later.

X tugged him back down a step, still holding his wrist tight. “Zero, I… please, this is important to me.”

Zero shook his head desperately. “I don’t know what you’re doing. I don’t want any part in it.”

“Please promise me you won’t tell anyone,” X pled. “If not for my sake, then for theirs.” He gestured behind himself to indicate the woman he had been talking with.

Zero nodded, throat tight, and tried to tug his hand away. X held it for one moment longer before letting go. “Thank you,” he said quietly. Zero turned and fled.

-

That evening, the prince allowed Axl to dress him silently, his mind elsewhere. Prince X, the diplomatic, the ever-loyal… stealing from royal coffers. It didn’t make sense. Who was this woman that it was so important? How did X know her?

The guard-made-manservant was relatively silent as well. Both gave a wide berth to the mark on the floor where the dagger had been thrown earlier that day. Had it really been only a matter of hours?

“I hope that you enjoy the soiree,” Axl said in a too-chipper tone as he stepped back from coiling Zero’s braid around his head. Zero looked up, dazed.

“Soiree?”

“Oh… did I forget to tell you?” Axl’s face fell and he rubbed a hand through his hair. “I just can’t do anything right lately, can I?” he gave a hollow laugh. “The King thought it would help everyone relax; a light supper and wine in the gardens. And the weather has been pleasant of late, or at least that’s what I heard… I haven’t been outside recently…” He trailed off, eyes drifting to the letter opener on the desk.

Zero hummed a neutral sound and didn’t say anything. After a heavy silence, he stood and left Axl there watching the instrument. He wandered out to make his way to the gardens, still lost in thought. Perhaps fresh air _would_ help after all, and being able to walk around the garden would help him keep away from his fiancé. He took the long way around, avoiding the route that went through the cellars.

As Zero stepped out onto the mossy dais overlooking the gardens, King Light glanced over and came swiftly to waylay him. Zero nodded his way through the conversation, not really listening, involuntarily searching the small party for X. He was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Sigma. Zero took a deep breath and pushed a smile onto his face for the King. If he could just get through this, it would mean a welcome respite from the more difficult members of the family, and he could be alone with his thoughts. When he was finally released, he avoided the other royalty and made a beeline toward the cascading rose bushes, only to catch X coming out from the winding paths between them. He swore under his breath. So much for time alone. X stopped when his eyes fell on Zero, and his expression turned to worry. But he flashed a quick smile and came slowly to stand by Zero’s side, overlooking the flowers.

The prince was saying something, Zero realized. He shook his head and tried to listen, but the words didn’t seem to link together in his mind, somehow. A passing servant offered a shimmering tray of wine glasses and, without thinking, Zero took one. He stood looking into the dark liquid, stomach churning, as the servant walked away. “I don’t actually want this,” he muttered.

X’s hand brushed his as he reached to take it and Zero jumped.

“Let me have it, then,” said X. “I’ve rarely wanted wine more.”

He took a long sip, drinking it as quickly as propriety would allow, and Zero almost cracked a smile before he remembered that X probably wanted it to ease the stress that had been caused by him. He stood silently as X downed the entire glass.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” said his fiancé, turning the glass round and round in his hands. “I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you this morning.”

Just as Zero was trying to decide whether this sudden statement was the doing of the wine or not, X turned and left.

Pacing round and around the labyrinth of rose bushes, Zero eventually ceased to be grateful for the time alone. He spent the whole evening trying to decipher the sparse conversation—and his own feelings—all the while still reeling from the revelation of the afternoon. It made his head ache. He shooed Axl away when he returned to his rooms and dropped onto his bed with an unhappy sigh.

When eventually Zero slept, he dreamed that he was bathing in a terrible red liquid. A shout had half-escaped his lips before he realized that it was not blood, but wine. He tried to push himself out of the bath, but it seemed to suck at him, holding him in. He kicked frantically, but his feet were stuck, when he placed his hands down to try to stand, they became stuck too. Writhing, he screamed in earnest now, and then heard someone calling his name.

“Zero? Zero! Wake up!”

With a jolt, reality came swirling back and Zero realized that he was tangled up in his sheets. As he freed himself, Axl stood by the bed with a torch, speaking urgently.

“Zero—sir—Prince X is very ill. I thought you would want to know. He looks like death, sir.”

Before he knew why he was doing it, Zero was up and out the door, running for the hospital. The thought, “ _What am I doing_?” pushed vaguely at him as he went, but he didn’t stop. The halls were dark as ink, except for the occasional servant, who looked at him in a daze as he went dashing by.

The hospital was light, though, and buzzing with people. Zero felt sick as he pushed through the crowd.

X shuddered where he lay on the bed. His whole body convulsed, chest heaving and head snapping this way and that. A doctor bent over him tried to catch his face to press some sort of tincture to his lips. Axl had not been lying when he’d said the prince looked like death. His eyes were bruised and his skin turned pale and shiny. As the convulsions began to subside, he looked about him with little recognition in his expression. It was a scene Zero had witnessed once before, when an ambassador in Maverick had been assassinated. He remembered watching the seizures subside as the man died in the hospital bed. It had gone on for hours.

“Poison,” he whispered. The doctor straightened up and nodded.

“Yes, poison,” he said tiredly. “I’ve no idea how…” he trailed off as he looked at Zero, and his jaw hardened.

Zero knew what he was thinking, but he didn’t care. X was also looking at him now, lips moving wordlessly as he stretched out a hand for him. Zero shuffled closer and took it. The doctor made a disgruntled noise as X pulled Zero down to speak to him. His voice was quiet and ragged, as though he’d swallowed fire.

“My room, my desk… there’s a contract—a loan contract I was working on for that woman… Please, Zero, I was meant to give it to her tonight, you must take it to her.”

Zero’s eyes widened. “I…”

“Please.” X’s hand clutched at the loose sleeve of Zero’s nightshirt. “If… if I die, and she doesn’t get it, her family will be in danger. You must, Zero, please.”

His voice grew more and more frantic, Zero glanced behind him to see the doctor watching with suspicion in his expression, but no comprehension. He hushed X and pried his fingers from his shirt. “All right, but you’re not going to die,” he said, more to himself than the prince. X’s hands relaxed and then his eyes went glassy. “Zero,” he said softly. “What are you doing here? Like that…”

Zero opened his mouth to reply, brow furrowed in confusion, but the doctor bustled over and shooed Zero away, a new tincture in hand. “He’s been hallucinating,” he said dismissively. “You’ll not help him by being here.”

Zero took one last look at his fiancé, then turned and exited the hospital.

The dark halls yawned before him as he walked, coaxing his fears out. What if X _did_ die? What would he do then? Who was this woman X cared about so much? Did he…

Zero shook his head. He had to do this for X. It was the prince’s only thought even in the throes of poison’s effects.

When he came to X’s chambers, he was relieved to find them dark as well—all of the servants were running errands to the hospital. He slowed as he neared the door, realization dawning that he had never actually been inside. He caught himself wondering if he would share this space with X after they were married—but of course they would have new accommodations?

X’s rooms were far less decadent than the usual Abel fare. It was all very comfortable; despite the darkness Zero could see that the paintings on the walls of the solar were warm and tranquil, the fireplace still smoked, the floor in front of it piled with furs and a behemoth armchair on which a book rested. Neat little pots of roses lined the window. But there wasn’t a desk in the solar itself, only a table with chairs for seating guests. With a little trepidation, Zero pressed open the door to the bedroom.

The desk was here, pushed up beside a window with an oil lamp still lit, burning low. Zero’s eyes wandered over to the bed to find it still made—X must have been working when the poison began its course. He sidled over to the desk. It was piled with heavy books; examining the covers, he found legal references and treasury records. Papers were scattered everywhere—in fact it was the only place in the room that seemed untidy. Zero had a sudden image of the prince here, bent poring over the tomes in deep concentration as he worked through the making of a loan contract for a peasant woman.

His stomach gave a little twinge. That X would do such a thing for someone of so little consequence…

He cleared his throat and looked over the papers. A quill rested on top of one, ink blotted where its tip had fallen. He picked it up and shook it, then began to read. It was all legalese, arduous stuff, but Zero could make out that it was indeed the contract in question. His brow furrowed as he looked it over. It granted the woman and her family an extended period with no interest, in which they could work and return the money in one payment after some years, presumably so they wouldn’t have to smuggle money into the castle over time. Zero had very little knowledge of lower-class wages, nor of ordinary loans, but it seemed… reasonable.

He folded up the paper, stuffed it into his shirt, and was about to leave before his eyes fell on the wax seal of an opened letter—he recognized it as the crest of Duchess Iris’ family. What appeared to be a half-written reply rested beneath it.

Zero had never been a terribly nosy person, but as he stood hesitating, the words seemed to tug at him and he was overwhelmed with curiosity. He could make out his own name in X’s handwriting…

“ _…escape me when he speaks_ ,” he found himself reading. “ _I struggle, my dear, knowing what to say to him. I fear he is already firm in his opinion of me as a naïve coxcomb —forgive my indelicate wording._ ”

A grin twitched its way onto Zero’s mouth.

“ _But enough of this, I fear I have already bored you with my ramblings on my betrothed. I can only hope he will see as much to love in me as I do in him. But I have already wearied you with those many particulars in my last letter. Now, I insist you describe to me in detail this conversation you had with…_ ”

The grin was gone now, replaced by an uneasy sort of nervousness in Zero’s chest. “… _as much to love in me as I do in him_.” But Zero was fully aware of how unpleasant he could be. He knew he was not well liked back in Maverick, nor here for that matter. Surely X was putting on airs. He looked around on the desk for the other letter described before realizing it must be in Duchess Iris’ hands. His stomach turned over. How much had the two of them talked about him in private?

Suddenly he remembered that the task X had set him was time-sensitive. He left the desk somewhat grudgingly and made his way down to the cellars, now careful to keep his movements silent. If _he_ was found helping this woman…

As he reached the bottom of the stair and rounded the corner, finding no-one there, his jaw clenched with anxiety. A trap?

“Your Highness? I thought you might not…”

The woman’s voice. She stepped out from where she had been crouching behind a box of ale, and then froze at the sight of him.

Before she could scream, Zero rushed forward and threw a hand over her mouth. “Your contract, I have your contract, please be quiet” he urged, withdrawing it from his shirt. “The prince asked me to deliver it to you.”

When he was sure she wouldn’t cry out, he drew his hand away. She looked at him in wonderment. “Prince Zero?”

Zero shoved the contract into her hands. “X is ill. He… sends you his regards.”

He wanted to leave right then, but he hovered there, mouth opening and closing as he tried to find a way to voice his question.

“How does the prince know you?”

The woman glanced behind Zero’s shoulder, as though to ensure that he hadn’t brought a troop of guards with him. Then she looked back at him. “He didn’t tell you? I was a baker here. When he was little, he would sneak into the kitchens and beg for pastries from us.” Her eyes glossed over as she reminisced. “Even as he grew older, he still came to visit us. I’d never seen anything like it. He is so kind, Your Highness. You are very lucky to be marrying him.”

Zero shook his head. “Then… why do you need this?” He gestured to the loan in her hands.

She cleared her throat and nodded. “I had to leave service to the castle after I was married and had a child—I couldn’t care for him and work here every day. But the skirmishes… my husband lost his farm, and now we’re destitute. But with this, we can rebuild, and we’ll surely pay you back, I promise, Your Highness…”

Zero’s throat tightened impossibly at the mention of the skirmishes. The reason he was here to forge the alliance between Maverick and Abel. He just nodded, backing away. “I wish you well,” he managed to get out. Then he turned and dashed up the stairs and out of sight, praying that the woman would leave before the castle’s attention was turned to security again.

He found himself back in the hospital, heart thumping wildly. The place had mostly emptied, but Zero wouldn’t let himself feel relief until he found the doctor, who told him that the poison had been identified and an antidote administered.

Exhaustion was starting to creep up on Zero as he approached the now-sequestered area where his fiancé slept. He pulled back the folding screen and entered, now finding himself alone with the prince, who was still. For one moment Zero thought perhaps the doctor had been mistaken and X was dead, but the prince’s chest stuttered and then rose as he sucked in a breath. Zero sighed and dropped down in a chair beside the bed, eyes itching.

As he looked at his fiancé, head swimming with the conversation from downstairs, it suddenly occurred to Zero that the prince had been stripped for examination. He tried to stop himself from staring, but his eyes flicked over X’s body of their own volition, and his mouth went dry.

His fiancé’s skin was moon-pale, still unnaturally white from his illness, but as it caught the starlight filtering in from a nearby window, the shadows thrown over the contours of his chest were… more than pleasant, Zero admitted begrudgingly to himself. His gaze trailed down the thin muscles of his torso, and then he couldn’t decide if he was grateful or not that the hospital sheets still protected some semblance of modesty.

Zero shifted uncomfortably, now wishing he’d had the forethought to put on a tunic before running out of his room. Then again, he’d half thought X might die then. If Axl hadn’t come to get him, he wouldn’t have even known until morning. Then the loan... That had caught him by surprise. The prince wasn’t really just giving away money. It seemed… honest, somehow. Something Zero wished he’d done himself. His mind wandered back to the letter, and then to the day weeks previous when X had gifted him the corsage, and he now half-wished he hadn’t tossed the thing out of his bedroom window. After all, would X lie to Duchess Iris?

“You took it to her?”

X’s voice made Zero jump, and he realized he’d been dozing. He nodded.

“Good… thank you, Zero.” X looked up at the ceiling and sighed, a rattling sort of sound. It started up a fit of coughing. The prince turned away from Zero, shuddering, and Zero’s caught sight of X’s back, criss-crossed with pink lines from lying on the bed so long. His eyes followed the line of X’s spine and then his head went blank as they fell on a traitorous new few inches of exposed skin revealed by the disturbed sheets. He could only muster up the will to look away after several seconds, and X fell back, coughing finally subsided. Zero felt very hot of a sudden.

“I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” said X, and it took Zero a moment to realize that he meant the effects of the poison. He shook his head.

“I’m just glad that they found the antidote.”

X fixed him with a tired stare. “Are you?”

After a long moment where Zero returned the stare, taken aback, X looked away. “You could have gone back to Maverick, probably. They wouldn’t force you to stay here with your fiancé dead.”

The hollow note in his voice made Zero’s jaw tighten. He stood, chagrined beyond words. After everything..? Finally he managed to speak. “This is for the good of both our countries,” he said, louder than he’d intended. “And… and _yes_ , I’m glad, X, you impossible fool.”

He turned on his heel and stormed out, and not wanting to return to his rooms he veered off to the library, which felt somehow more private. He tugged a random book off one of the shelves and huffed down onto the couch to read it, not taking in any of the words. _Naïve coxcomb_ indeed.


	6. The Hunt

Zero couldn’t remember what he’d been dreaming about this time except that he woke with a cold sweat sticking his nightshirt to his skin. Light filtered into the room—but it was not his room.

He stared about wildly and then froze when he realized that Duchess Iris was standing beside him with a concerned expression on her pretty face. A line of bookshelves behind her framed her figure. He’d fallen asleep in the library.

Zero sat up, smoothing his shirt and shaking his head. “Please forgive me, how improper,” he said, still shaken from the dream.

“That’s quite all right. May I?” she said, gesturing to the couch. Zero moved over to let her sit down.

“I only just went to visit X in the hospital,” she sighed. “Absolutely dreadful. Belladonna, did they tell you? Someone must have snuck into his food. They’ve been interrogating chefs all morning. Almost didn’t get my own breakfast because of it.”

In the relief to find X alive, Zero realized he hadn’t even stopped to consider just who might have poisoned him. His mind flashed back to the soiree, and the wine. Then his stomach dropped. The servant had given the wine to _him_ , not X. So it had been two assassination attempts in one day.

His hands curled into the fabric of his pants, struggling to call up the servant’s face, but he wasn’t sure he’d even looked at whoever it was when he took the glass.

“Are you quite well?” Duchess Iris asked. Zero looked up at her, reverie shattered. “Oh, what am I saying? Of course you aren’t. None of us are, not after yesterday.” She drew out a painted fan and gave herself a few agitated flaps with it.

Zero made a nondescript sound and looked at his hands. After a few minutes, Iris gave him a sidelong glance.

“How are you two getting along?” she asked, her tone changing abruptly.

Zero suddenly remembered the letter sitting on X’s desk and spoke almost not of his own volition. “What does he love so much about me?” he asked. His voice came out more desperate than he intended.

Iris hid a smile behind her fan. “How should I know?” Zero shot her an incredulous look, and her eyes twinkled. “First you must tell me what _you_ see in _him_.”

“I…” Zero’s brow furrowed and he reached down to pick up the book he had been trying to read the night before. He smoothed his fingers over the cover. _Some Discourse on the Maintenance of Royal Forests and the Hunting Therein_. He hadn’t gone hunting since he’d arrived in Abel… suddenly his fingers itched for a bowstring.

“He is the only one who seems to have faith that I’m not a traitor,” he started. After all, X had even wanted to let him train with the army. Perhaps once they were married and things calmed down, he still could…

 _Obviously, Zero_ , he thought suddenly. _What has your fuss been over?_

He buried his face in his hands, his mind drifting over what a fool he’d made of himself panicking in front of X. Shouting at him in this very library, running away like a coward when he overheard the conversation in the cellars… “He cares about the people,” he admitted, remembering the relief in the woman’s voice. “He’s a… fair sort of person.”

_‘I must hear every side of an argument’, isn’t that what he said?_

“He has been trying to woo me and make me happy even though the marriage will go forward in any case… He is a great tactician and military man too, from what I heard in Maverick, but he doesn’t talk about it.” He made a mental note to ask about it soon. “And he’s terribly handsome,” he found himself finishing. The duchess fell into tittering laughter.

“You… You’re going to tell him everything I said, aren’t you?” asked Zero.

“Certainly I am,” she said, folding up her fan and resting it in her lap. Zero groaned, but her bright smile soothed the dread immediately. If things were different, he thought, he might have wanted to pursue her.

Iris hummed. “You can always confide in me, when I’m here—which I will be ‘til the wedding.” After a pause, she leaned over to look at the book under his hand. “Hunting, hmm? Did the King tell you that Abel has a large forest laid out for the royal family’s leisure hunting?”

“No,” said Zero, surprised. Then, “Do you suppose they might let me go if there was a hunting party?”

“I don’t see why not,” said Iris. “It would only be a few of us.” Then she stood, gesturing with her fan. “Actually, that’s a splendid idea! A hunt would be perfect to raise everyone’s spirits and put the color back in our X’s cheeks. And the ambassador from Doppler is here. What better than to invite him and put his mind off the happenings of the last few days? I shall ask the king forthwith. Tomorrow?”

Startled, Zero looked back down at the book, but nodded. “It does sound good,” he admitted.

            So it was that, the following morning, Zero let Axl dress him in his most comfortable attire and went down to meet the royalty across the grounds at the entrance of the royal forest, where breakfast had been laid out on white-lined tables. The King and the ambassador from Doppler stood a ways off, talking to a huntsman, presumably determining the course of action for tracking the deer. The air smelled of leather and crisp morning grass—something Zero hadn’t breathed in weeks. He realized that he was smiling as he watched the greyhounds being herded over by the kennel master, all looking sleek and bright-eyed.

            “Excited to hold a weapon again?”

            Sigma’s voice took the smile from Zero’s face. He turned stiffly to the larger man. “I haven’t been hunting since I arrived here,” he said sourly. “I’m excited for the thrill of the chase, no more.”

            Sigma chuckled. “That’s familiar,” he said. “Good luck.”

            With that, he sauntered off to speak to Iris. Zero scowled after him.

            “Here’s your bow, Zero.”

            Startled, Zero turned to find X, looking a little the worse for wear, but smiling and holding out the slender redwood longbow Zero had been missing. In his other hand he clutched Zero’s quiver of arrows, each fletched with shimmering green and blue feathers. “I made sure that it was restrung and… Zero?”

            Zero looked up at the sound of his name, trying to quell the strange new speed of his heartbeat. He nodded and took the bow and arrows, then followed X blankly to the tables, reassured by the familiar grip of the soft leather on the bow’s riser. He felt less than hungry despite eating very little the past few days, but still managed to have his mouth full of an apple when X turned to talk to him again.

            “I’m sure you’ve some accomplishments with hunting, haven’t you?”

            Zero nodded, and in drawing the apple away from his mouth to try to speak, ended up with a little spray of juice which then went running down over his chin. He withered with embarrassment, but X chuckled and gave a bashful smile. He reached over and rubbed the juice away with his sleeve.

            Zero’s heart drummed uncomfortably against his throat.

            “Now everyone, gather round, I hear we have a rather magnificent herd to track today…”

            The party was to spread out over the path of the deer and keep the greyhounds in sight while they hunted. When they breached the edge of the forest, Zero’s nerves melted into excitement. The familiar movement of a horse’s hooves, the smell of the hunt, the banging of his quiver against his leg as they rode. He knew he had missed it terribly, but just how terribly he hadn’t realized until he had it again. He didn’t know how long they had been following the herd—it all went by too quickly for his taste—when suddenly a flash of tawny fur showed between the trees and the group surged forward. Delight surged up in Zero’s stomach as he raised his bow. Thee muscles in his back twisted as he drew the string back, aiming for a hart’s flank.

            Nearby, X shouted as his horse tumbled and went shrieking to the ground.

            Zero’s arrow loosed, but he didn’t see where it went. He struggled to seize his horse’s reins and force it around—it nearly threw him off as it crow-hopped—and turn back as the rest of the party disappeared in the distance. He rode anxiously toward the commotion and found X by the side of the path. He leaped off his horse. The wood was oddly silent except for the sound of the horse, screaming and thrashing in the bushes. An arrow was buried in its side; only the feathers, soaked in blood now, were visible sticking out between its ribs. Zero’s jaw clenched. It was surely lodged in the horse’s lungs—there wasn’t hope for the beast. It seemed that X had managed to struggle out of his saddle and stood a ways off, watching with fear and sadness in his eyes. Zero went to his side.

            “Come on,” he said, pulling the prince away. “I’ll put an end to its misery.”

            X looked at him, brow twisted up, but nodded and turned away.

            When the deed was done, another arrow nestled in the horse’s heart, Zero went back to his fiancé. He put a hand on X’s arm.

            “I’m sorry,” he said lamely. His bow sagged at his side. “It’s not uncommon.”

            “I know,” said X, and his voice cracked. “Thank you for making it quick.”

Without the horse now, the forest was pressingly quiet. Zero let his hand drop to his side. The rush of adrenaline pounded in his ears and made him jittery. X’s breath still came in gasps, his cheeks flushed. His fine hair clung to his neck.

            “It wasn’t a coincidence,” X whispered finally. “You know that as well as I.”

            Zero’s hand clenched around his bow.

            “Someone is trying to kill you.”

            “But they keep getting to you instead,” said Zero mournfully. “I wouldn’t care so much if I was the only one being hurt by this.”

            X looked at him, and Zero noted the tired lines under his eyes. “What are you doing?” he asked, shaking his head. “It wasn’t so long ago that you were shouting at me to get away from you after I arranged that corsage for you.”

            Zero looked at the ground, hot shame sending heat to his face. “Is it so hard to believe I could change my mind?”

            On the edge of his vision, he saw X blinking in surprise. “…Hard but not impossible, I suppose,” he replied, rubbing a hand over his neck.

            Silence fell. Zero glanced up at X, who was looking off into the distance now, apparently lost in thought.

His gaze caught on X’s mouth. It was parted as the prince drew breath. He noticed that it had a pretty little bow in the upper lip, and the corners were tucked up almost like he was smiling, even though he had been distressed a moment before. Zero’s heart was pounding again.

            “Well,” Zero heard his fiancé say, “We should get back to the assembly in time for the unmaking so no-one worries…”

            “Mmm,” Zero hummed in response. His eyes flicked up and found X staring at him. A shock went through his spine when they made eye contact. Had he ever really looked into X’s eyes? They were greener than he had thought. He could see the light through the trees reflected in them. Suddenly everything seemed to be telescoping in his vision.

            Before he knew what his body was doing, Zero had X’s shoulders in his hands. His heartbeat drowned out all other noise as he pulled the prince to him, mind somehow blank despite its spinning. He thought of hesitating, once, but it felt like trying to wake from a drugged sleep—too difficult, when everything else was right before him, coaxing him in.

            Zero had never kissed anyone before, but afterward realized that he had been too numb with excitement to really register what it felt like. His body was shaking as he pressed his lips to X’s.

            X’s hands went to his shoulders, and it took Zero a moment to register that he was pushing at him, hard. He let go, and the prince shoved him away.

Zero backed off, hurt sharp in his chest. X stared at him for one moment longer, expression utterly unreadable, and then abruptly he turned and ran. Before Zero could say a word, X had mounted the remaining horse and was gone, leaving Zero with nothing to do but wait for the sounds of the hooves in the brush to fade. He looked at the space where X had stood for a long while, and then quietly gathered his bow and began the long walk all the way back to the assembly. He couldn’t feel his feet. The world seemed muffled.

            When he finally trudged out of the forest, hair matted with leaves and clothing muddied, the assembly was already gathered there and buzzing with talk. X was there, hanging on his father’s arm. He didn’t give so much as a glance as several of the party ran over to Zero. Congratulations, they said, his arrow had been found in a particularly handsome hart, and wasn’t it a pity about X’s horse, and they had just sent a party to find him…

            Zero ignored them. He didn’t stop walking until he’d gone all the way across the grounds, into the castle, and finally found himself in the cellar. He wound his way through the rows of barrels and wine shelves until he found a particularly dusty corner. There he stood for a moment, sucking in a few breaths of air, before the misery finally caught up to him and crashed into him like a wave. He pressed himself into his hiding place, slid down to the floor, and cried.


	7. Propriety

Zero wanted nothing less than to go to dinner that night, even with the prospect of fresh venison, but he knew he had already committed a social faux-pas in storming out on the hunt earlier. He couldn’t justify another offense in one day. He picked out an outfit for himself—something dark and drab, he figured, would just suit his mood. So when Axl came to help him dress, he found a long, silky, gray robe, black leggings, and a set of onyx jewelry already laid out on the bed. Zero opted to wear his hair down, something he rarely did, but found that having it that way felt somehow comforting, like he could hide in it. Axl mulled about in the room quietly, much of his help rendered obsolete without any braiding to do.

            The journey down to the feast felt rather more like floating than walking. Zero was utterly lost in thought and didn’t realize that anyone was talking to him until he was already standing by one of the dining tables arranged in the great hall. A host of guests had been invited from the castle and city to feast together tonight, though for once Zero welcomed the company. It meant an easy respite from X.

            Yes, X. Zero couldn’t help himself from looking for his fiancé, as miserable as he was, after he’d seated himself between Duchess Iris and some earl or another visiting the city. The Duchess chattered amiably with the man, giving Zero freedom to search out the prince. When his eyes fell on the prince, his heart stuttered.

            X was making his way down from the dais upon which the throne sat, speaking with his father. He was… breathtaking.

            Long, dagged satin sleeves swept to the floor. They could have rivaled a twilight sky with the intensity of their blue-violet sheen. The whole tunic, which swished around X’s knees, winked here and there as he moved in the light—from where he sat Zero couldn’t discern what the effect came from. Was it diamonds? But he couldn’t be bothered to think on it, as the tunic was also almost… _provocative_ in its cut. The collar was nothing like the modest ruffs and close-cut pieces X ordinarily wore; this one rested more than two or three inches off his neck, and it was accented by a dazzling necklace dripping with diamonds. The embroidery of his heavy damask cape rippled and shimmered like molten silver against a backdrop of blue as it slipped over the steps.

            “Best chew your food a little before it all falls back onto your plate.”

            Duchess Iris’ hand was on Zero’s arm. He jumped and shut his mouth, which had been hanging open as he stared. Iris giggled, and he was grateful for his choice of hairstyle, as he could lean forward and hide his face from her. He mumbled an apology and tried his best not to lift his eyes from his plate the rest of the evening—he failed spectacularly in this endeavor. The extravagant display gnawed at him. What was X doing? Was it some kind of power play? Was it a show for the guests? Was it… Zero tried to dismiss the idea, but found himself wondering more often than not—was it meant to tease _him_? Show him what he couldn’t have now, after his rejection that afternoon?

            There were three courses (or four? Zero couldn’t remember afterward) to the feast. The tables had been arranged with a wide space in the center for entertainment, but neither the food nor the dancing was in the least bit palatable to Zero in his current mood. He picked at the platters set before him but in the end, he left his stomach growling—yet he simply didn’t feel hungry.

            Duchess Iris tried to talk to him a few times during the feast—once or twice Zero thought she mentioned X, but he couldn’t call up the energy to listen. The magnificent display the prince was wearing kept nagging in his mind until the final note of music was played and the last scraps of food cleared away. Zero excused himself as he suddenly felt that he might start crying again, and almost ran out of the great hall.

            As he mounted the top of the stairs, Zero heard his name being called.

            It was X.

            Of course it was X.

            For a moment he spurred himself forward. Hot tears were already threatening to spill down his cheeks and he didn’t want his fiancé to see… but at the same time, perhaps he did. A vicious little part of him wanted X to know he’d hurt him. The gentle prince wouldn’t be able to bear it, he knew. So, halfway down the hall to his rooms, he wheeled around to face X.

            The man was closer to him than he’d expected, cheeks flushed with exertion—had he been running after him? He must have, to catch up as he had. He drew up to a halt as Zero turned, and then his expression turned to shock at the sight of Zero’s tears. The wicked part of Zero hissed smugly, satisfied.

            “Zero…” X began, taking a step forward. He opened his mouth, but his voice broke as he tried to speak. He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful tonight.”

            Zero laughed. “What a thing to say, with the gaudy thing you’re wearing.”

            X winced at that, and for a moment Zero regretted the cruelty in his words. In truth, even up close it wasn’t _gaudy_ , only extravagant. X was looking at his feet.

            “What is it for? Did you want to tempt some rich marquis into your bed? Hoping to find satisfaction in them, since you obviously don’t want it from me?”

            X gaped. “Zero…”

            Zero was crying in earnest now, ugly tears. He felt his hair sticking to his cheeks. _What a child_ , he thought of himself, but he couldn’t help it. Memories of X shoving him away, and his expression after, which Zero had decided was disgust, swirled around in his head. X took another step closer, shaking his head as he tried to speak, but no words seemed to form in his mouth. Finally he held his hands up, hovering a few inches from Zero’s face. When Zero didn’t react, he closed the gap between them, hesitantly stroking his tear-streaked cheeks. He took Zero’s arm and led him through a door a few feet away, into a sitting room. It was dark; no candles or oil lamps had been lit in here during the feast. The only light came from a massive window on the other side, trickling in faint starlight.

            As soon as the door was closed behind them, Zero folded forward, making horrible noises as he cried, but X just caressed his face, first with the pads of his fingers and then with the backs, rubbing away tears as they came. When the sobbing faded into quiet gasps, Zero realized that his fiancé was making gentle sounds, hushing him and cooing softly.

            “I’m so sorry,” he said at length. “I’ve been a fool.”

            “A fool to court me?” Zero hiccupped.

            “No.” X sighed and rubbed his thumb along Zero’s cheek. “I don’t know what happened in the forest. I was so surprised. I’d… I’d imagined our first kiss, a hundred thousand times, but never expected it to come from you.” He blushed, and his hands fell to his sides again. Zero missed them for a moment before he registered what X had said.

            “You mean… you didn’t… not want it?”

            X ducked his head, a half-smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “No, I didn’t ‘not want it’. I was… overwhelmed.”

            Zero sniffed, the haze of tears finally clearing from his head. “You could have done a great deal better with ‘overwhelmed’.”

            “I know,” X sighed. “I’m sorry. I am ever sorry.”

            Zero watched him in the dark, outlined only by a faint blue halo on his skin. He was shaking, he realized. The diamonds he wore flashed with it. He was wearing perfume—Zero couldn’t figure out what the scent was, but it was sweet and smoky. X drew in a deep breath.

            “May I please remedy my mistake?”

            Heart in his throat, Zero nodded.

            X inched forward again. They had already been close, but now Zero could feel the heat from X’s body like a blanket. The edge of his tunic brushed against Zero’s thighs. The prince reached up both hands to his face and slid them into his hair, tugging him gently down. Zero saw his eyes flutter closed before their lips connected.

            The kiss was slow this time, so slow. X’s hands held Zero’s face still as he dipped his head first left and then right, over and over, lips moving with more skill than he had any right, gently and _slowly_ still. He was so soft. The tilt of his jaw as he moved subtly pressed Zero’s mouth open with a rush of breath and Zero felt a whine trapped in his throat. It was all so achingly gentle, but the effect made Zero’s knees as weak as if X had thrust a hand down his leggings.

            Finally he broke away; Zero’s mouth hung open where he’d left it. In the darkness, he could see that X’s lips were red from the kiss, his chest rising and falling quickly. He liked it.

A deep flush was creeping into X’s face. Zero licked his lips and slowly circled around his fiancé. He took a step forward—X took a step back in turn, now bumping up against the wall. His expression set loose all _sorts_ of things in Zero’s mind.

“Please,” the prince said.

            Zero’s hands were numb. “Please what,” he managed, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of X’s lips, quivering as he breathed.

            “Please… please…” X’s voice grew quieter and quieter as his fiancé pressed him into the wall. He cast a glance up at Zero’s face; their eyes met, and another tingling shock zipped down Zero’s spine.

            He came crashing down on X all at once. He shoved his shoulder into the wall with one hand, crushing his lips with his own. His other hand slid up and wound into his fiance’s hair, tugging desperately.

            X was falling apart in his arms; with his breath little high-pitched sounds of need tumbled into Zero’s mouth. His hands fluttered from Zero’s shoulders to his face to his waist. Something warm and glittering spread through Zero’s limbs from his chest. X’s mouth was yielding and hot and so full of _him_ that it made Zero’s whole body tremble. His knees were weak again Instead of letting them give out, however, he opted to press himself closer, letting his bent knee stray between X’s legs. His fiancé broke the kiss with a gasp and his hands seized Zero’s shirt.

            “Zero…” He moaned breathily, tossing his head back. Zero, delighted at this turn of events and relishing X clinging to him as he came apart, pushed himself closer, forcing X onto tiptoe to accommodate his thigh between his legs. X’s mouth opened but no sound came out—his eyes squeezed shut and his head twisted deliciously. When Zero lifted his knee up, X let go of him with one hand to clasp a hand over his lips and muffle the sound that finally loosed from his chest. High-pitched and lascivious, of the sort Zero had only heard by chance once or twice, when passing thin doors late at night. Hunger licked at him and roared in his ears.

            “No—no, Zero,” X stuttered, as Zero bent his head to mouth kisses onto his fiancé’s exposed neck. Zero grunted in response, drunk on the scent of him. Stopping felt like dragging a large weight up a mountainside.

            “We can’t… we can’t, if someone comes in and sees us, you’ll be ruined.” X put a hand up to Zero’s face. “They’ll think you’ve… seduced me, that you’re using me—I won’t never be able to give you the power and privilege you deserve, not if they see before we’re married…”

            Zero groaned and stood away. It was with extreme pleasure, however, that he noted X squeezing his legs together as he backed off.

            There was a short silence in which X took his hand and stroked his fingers. Zero sighed.

            “You never did tell me what this display is for,” he said, gesturing to the decadent attire his fiancé was wearing. “I don’t really think it’s gaudy.”

            X huffed out a laugh. “It’s… just because in most of the many scenarios I imagined our first kiss, I was wearing this.” The flush that had been disappearing from his cheeks raged back up and he looked away. Zero couldn’t help but smile. He wanted to pull the prince close and hold him.

            Very suddenly the door beside them opened. The servant who entered uttered a little scream as she saw them, leaping backwards and clutching at her chest.

            “Oh my dear Lord,” she breathed. “Your Highness…es… I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your… ah… conversation.” She cleared her throat, straightened her dress, and then bustled noisily about the room, lighting the oil lamps, before rushing out and shutting the door behind her again.

            “I hate to think what would have happened if she came in to find you making pretty little moans and hanging off my shirt,” Zero whispered, with a grin.

            X glared up at him. “There will be rumors enough with her finding us alone together in a closed room, you wicked thing.”

            Zero’s smile widened. He glanced to the door and then leaned in close to X. “Just one more?” he asked. X frowned but assented, and held Zero’s hands at his sides while they shared a chaste kiss. Zero drew it out as long as he could before the prince squeezed his hands and he knew that he had to stop.

            X sighed. “One night and thirty-six days,” he said, and Zero knew that it was the length of time until their wedding.

            Very suddenly, the day Zero had been dreading for months could not come fast enough.


	8. Correspondence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for being so patient with me. I was feeling a little uninspired but after chipping away at this long enough I finally have the rest of the it figured out. Things are moving along again now and I'm excited! I already have the next chapter written and ready to post tomorrow. That's when some real plot will kick in, but til then, enjoy a bit of fluff and steam <3

**Thirty-six days**

            The ceremony to welcome more foreign visitors to the castle had nearly the entire staff and royal family out in the courtyard. It wasn’t something Zero would ordinarily trouble himself with, but he found himself realizing that he now had stakes in the wellbeing of this country, not just Maverick. It also gave him the opportunity to see X. It may or may not have been a poor choice, he thought afterward, because he was certain he’d hardly taken his eyes off the prince. X’s posture was tired and his face pale, but he had certainly made it difficult to tell from his eyes; where dark circles might have contrasted his pale skin, he had edged his lashes with dusky kohl. It gave him an air of distinctly dark beauty that his innocent attire normally lacked.

            Zero would have to beg him to do it more often.

            The benefit of looking so much at X was that Zero got to see when the prince glanced at him too, and the way his eyes lit up upon seeing him. Zero wished sorely that he had some way to communicate with him non-verbally. They might have a little time to see one another in private if they slipped away during the ceremony… but it was not to be.

 

**Thirty-three days**

            As more and more visitors came to stay in the palace in preparation for the wedding, Zero saw even less of his fiancé. He found himself complaining to Iris about it one afternoon, as she lounged in the court sitting room helping him choose fabrics for his wedding tunic.

            “I can’t stand how busy he is,” Zero sighed, rubbing his thumb along an embroidered slip of paisley. “I think I’ve only laid eyes on him a half dozen times since…” Here he caught himself. He had been about to mention the kiss. The thought of it was so familiar to him—it was all he had been thinking of since it had happened. He would have to be more careful when he spoke. This was so unlike him.

            “You’ve turned red, dear,” said Iris, resting her chin in her hand and looking pointedly at him. “You’ve not taken him to bed before the appointed time, have you?”

            Zero tried to say something—anything—but it caught in his throat and came out as a strangled mess. He started coughing, and he could practically feel the heat radiating from his face now.

            Iris laughed.

            “I haven’t! I haven’t, we only kissed,” he managed after some time. Iris tapped her fan on the table, looking ruefully at him.

            “I suppose that’s for the best,” she sighed. “You can’t imagine the trouble there would be if you were caught.”

            “X impressed that upon me, yes,” Zero said mournfully. Iris laughed again.

            A silence passed as he continued through a few more layers of fabric in the batch of swatches sent by the tailor.

            “We can’t even communicate through letters, I’m sure,” he said as Iris pulled out a creamy silk scrap and held it up to his face to examine how it looked by his skin.

            “There’s an idea,” she said. A little smile passed her lips. “Perhaps he could write you through me. All we ever exchange is idle gossip, near every day for months now. I haven’t seen a broken seal on his letters since the first few days of it. The guards must think we’re just busybodies. And I’m sure he’d be clever enough to disguise it…” She tapped her finger on her chin as she thought.

            “Would you do that for me?” Zero’s voice came out more desperate than he intended, but Iris nodded and deposited the silk in the “yes” pile.

 

**Thirty-one days**

            “Does X ever have to do these sorts of things?” Zero grumbled, blinking tiredly at the seemingly endless list of potential dishes for the wedding feast.

            “He does just as much as you,” said Iris. “Oh, please do mark the blackberry pudding. I’m terribly partial to it. X wrote to you.”

            Zero froze. “X…?” She had said it so nonchalantly! She slapped his arm with her fan and he remembered that while there was no-one in earshot, plenty of guards and servants could see them in this particular room. He shut his mouth and he pretended to study the menu again. Iris withdrew the letter from the pocket of her dress and passed it to him.

            “Pretend you’re just reading a note from the chef or some such,” she said casually, and picked up the menu of options for the second course.

            Zero tried to keep his hands from shaking as he unfolded the letter in his hands.

                        _Dearest Iris_ ,

_How silly, that riddle about the chameleon with the iron tongue. You’ll have to see if you can find…_

            Zero’s shoulders drooped and he scanned the page for his own name. It didn’t appear until the second sheet of paper.

            _… about Zero, and I must say that he occupies my mind ever more of late._

            Zero couldn’t help the woozy smile that wormed its way onto his face.

            _My heart never ceases to dwell on his each and every detail. I feel anxious and agitated sometimes at night, as my thoughts keep me awake to recall his features. It is starting to have an effect on my body, I think. Every morning I feel terribly sore and stretched, as though I’ve been riding an awfully large stallion for some time. I must …_

            There was more, but Zero didn’t read it. It was as though he couldn’t see anything but this small paragraph. Everything else seemed to go dark by comparison as he read it over and over again while his face grew terribly hot and his heart. Finally, after a distant sound drew him out of his reverie, he put the paper down on the table with shaking hands and caught Iris smiling in the corner of his eye.

            “Quite the innuendo, wouldn’t you say?” she asked, pointing at the menu as though they were talking about it.

            “I can’t… I can’t believe he would write that. He…? X knew I was going to read it?”

            “He did.”

            Zero let out a strangled sound and picked the dessert list up again without registering any of the words on the page. He crossed his legs.

 

 

**Twenty-two days**

            Preparations for the wedding were beginning to take up the majority of Zero’s time, something he actually found himself grateful for. It took his mind off of X… But whenever evening came around and he laid on his bed staring up at the canopy, he couldn’t help but remember X’s letter. Images smoldered in his mind, thoughts of the sorts of things X wrote about in thinly-veiled innuendo. More often than not, Zero got much less sleep than he wanted. And the few glimpses of X he got, the prince looked just as bad. It was almost gratifying.

            On this particular day, Zero had been shooed out of the great hall as extra columns and stages were being set up. They didn’t want royalty wandering around and potentially getting beams of wood dropped on them. So Zero was left with very little to do but try to distract himself by wandering around the palace grounds. He knew he wasn’t allowed far, what with guards watching him everywhere he went, but the libraries reminded him too much of X.

            He meandered through the labyrinth of tall peony hedges, trailing his fingers along their petals. It was a cold morning, and in the shadow of the natural walls dew dripped from the leaves and flowers. It was a pretty sight, Zero thought, a stark contrast to the daily drills he had been accustomed to in his mornings back in Maverick. He was just contemplating whether he could get used to appreciating these sorts of things, when he saw a figure moving in the corner of his eye. He looked up, startled, and found X.

            The prince stopped short where he had just rounded the corner and stared at him, face quickly turning red. But Zero moved toward him, all thoughts gone, as though he was drawn by an invisible force to his fiancé’s side. The hedges came up above their heads, nobody would see them…

            It was the first time the two had had physical contact since that night after the feast, and the moment Zero laid his hand on X was like lightning. X spun and threw himself into Zero’s embrace. His arms clasped around his neck and suddenly his whole body was pressed against Zero. He could feel X’s heartbeat pounding fast, but more than that he felt his incredible heat. His mouth was open and inviting against his, whispering his name with every shift of their bodies.

            Zero, again, didn’t know what to do with his hands. They wandered up and down X’s back, clutching the fabric of his shirt and tugging his fiancé closer.

            X’s tongue swiped across the inside of his mouth. Zero’s knees went weak and he broke the kiss to catch his breath and look into his fiancé’s face. X was flushed and panting, his expression positively _sinful_. Zero couldn’t stand it. He shoved him against the partition and began kissing anywhere he could reach—jaw, ear, hair, neck. X _whined_ and dug his hands into Zero’s hair, fingers flexing whenever Zero hit a particularly sensitive spot… and that was nearly everywhere.

            _I should stop_ , Zero thought, knowing full well how loud X was being and how the heat pooling at the bottom of his stomach meant nothing good… but he didn’t stop. His hands trailed lower and lower on his fiancé’s body, until he caved to temptation and slipped his hand between X’s thighs.

            The prince gasped into his ear and his hips bucked forward; Zero gritted his teeth to keep himself from doing the same. He wanted nothing more than to keep going, _god_ , he wanted it so badly, but they couldn’t, not here, and any second a guard could come around the maze and find them.

            “Stop me,” he begged, even as his fingers traced the quickly growing form underneath the cloth.

            X stilled. He let out a soft sound like keening, his head falling back to look up at the sky. Zero slowed in turn, and when his fiancé pulled his hands away, he didn’t resist. X held both of his hands in his own, head rested on Zero’s heaving chest. He chuckled.

            “That was all your fault,” X said finally.

            Zero laughed dryly in return. “I know,” he admitted. “I need to control myself. Maybe I should take a page out of your book and relieve the tension by my own hand.” He looked pointedly at the prince.

            X blushed prettily and lowered his eyes. “So you understood, then.”

            “It was plain as day, X, anyone would have understood the innuendo.”

            X shifted from side to side uncomfortably. “Well, I… I stopped doing that. A few days ago. In… in anticipation. Twenty-two days.” He let go of Zero’s hands to cover his face in embarrassment.

            Zero couldn’t help but smile. He took X’s hands back to kiss his forehead, and smoothed the ruffled locks of his hair back into place. “No wonder you’re so keyed up.”

            X huffed and nodded. “We really will have to stay away from each other.”

            Zero sighed loudly as X stepped away, but nodded as well. “Twenty-two days.”


	9. Stoking the Flames

**Ten days**

            It had been a long and aggravating luncheon. The palace was growing ever more busy as officials and aristocracy came from all edges of both Abel and Maverick to attend the wedding. It was past midsummer now, but the sun was scorchingly hot. Zero honestly thought he might simply melt in his formal attire. Iris insisted on him wearing increasingly beautiful fabrics and heavy jewelry to show himself off to the visitors. Normally a vain little part of Zero didn’t mind it, but on days like this, it was hard to feel like it was worth it.

            Zero finally extricated himself after smiling his way through introductions with yet another marquis he knew he wouldn’t remember, and started trudging up the stairs toward his chambers. He was halfway to the next floor when he heard a sound behind him; somebody clearing their throat. Zero jumped and whirled around, stomach lurching like he’d been caught doing something wrong. That quickly burned into irritation when he saw Duke Sigma standing at the foot of the stairs, the door behind him still swinging.

            “You and Prince X seem to be getting along better, Your Highness,” he said. The use of Zero’s title was not a respectful one. Zero had to keep himself from scoffing. While Sigma hadn’t done much outright to displease him—other than his assertions that Zero’s ideals were unfit for the Abel royalty—an air of _badness_ seemed to ooze from him...

            “One would hope so,” Zero retorted. He didn’t bother to put up a pretty smile. “The marriage will last longer than the rebellions.”

            “Will it?” Sigma smiled. “After all the recent attempts on your life… But what a morbid thought! I’m sure that you and X will not fall prey to such a tragedy.”

            Zero clenched his fists, anger licking up in his chest. He turned about on the steps to face the man fully. “One would almost think that you hope for tragedy, Duke Sigma,” he said. “I’m not oblivious to your dislike of the union. Have you other complaints against me?”

            Sigma laughed. It was guttural and so mocking that Zero almost flinched away. The duke suddenly mounted the steps, taking two at a time until he was almost within arm’s length of Zero. The prince felt all of his fighter’s instincts kick into gear as Sigma rushed at him. His fists came up and his muscles bunched, ready to defend himself. Sigma’s expression was fiery. It struck Zero suddenly that anyone of importance was far away at the luncheon, and most servants would be attending to them, too.

            “I have many complaints against you, Your Highness,” said Sigma, drawing up just out of range of Zero’s fists. He looked at the prince’s defensive stance and sneered. “Abel is a great, a rich nation. We have no need of outsiders like _Maverick_ —” he spat the word like a bite of something filthy, “—interfering with this great country. Your petty farmers began these problems when they moved into Abel territory, and now _we_ are forced to deal with it.” He took another few steps forward, now standing at Zero’s level, hulking over him. “While you sit idle waiting to become a _trophy_ to our prince, our economy and our army suffers. And with every day you dress pretty and pick out flowers and decorations for this wedding, it all grows worse. It will continue past the wedding date, I assure you.”

            With that, he brushed past him and up the stairs. Zero stood still for a long time, until his knuckles gripping the handrail turned white.   

            In all of his excitement about X… Zero had forgotten what the marriage was really for.  

            He realized first that he was crying, and second that his legs had begun to move him. It wasn’t until he was already halfway there that he finally recognized that he was taking himself to the king’s chambers.

            Of course Light was still at the luncheon, but Zero planted himself outside the door to wait for him until he returned. As time passed, servants passed him here and there, sometimes casting him looks of confusion. The braver looked at him with outright derision. Sigma’s words swirled around in his head. A trophy. An outsider. The cause of suffering.

Zero began to remember the political meetings in Maverick, the numbers tallying those already dead, the injured, the quickly escalating costs… Yet no-one in Maverick had ever suggested simply giving up the strip of land to Abel.

            If they had… this marriage wouldn’t even have been necessary. _Zero_ wouldn’t have been necessary.

            And then he realized that Sigma was voicing the exact same opinions Zero had once held. _Why should we need the help of a country like Abel? It’s the fault of their peasants that this all started._ Isn’t that precisely what he’d said to his father when he’d been told about the arranged marriage? _The damage to the economy is done and it will only get worse; send in the armies and make it stop by force_.

            So that was why Sigma was so opposed to Zero taking a position in the army. _He_ wanted to end the conflict with force just as much as Zero had. X hadn’t seen a problem with giving Zero military power because the military wasn’t part of the plan. But Sigma felt otherwise. Suddenly, as the pieces fell into place, Zero felt his knees shaking.

            King Light’s voice drifted from down the hallway. The prince stood at attention as the king rounded the corner, talking in dark tones with the man Zero recognized as captain of the guard; Signas. Zero swallowed and commanded himself to stop shaking. Signas nodded at his cordial soldier’s salute, expression unreadable.

            “My dear prince, you’ve been waiting for me?” asked Light. His voice sounded so tired, but he smiled gently. It reminded Zero of X, and his heart twisted.

            “Yes, Your Majesty. I wanted to speak with you. And Captain Signas too, sir, if possible.”

            The two men exchanged surprised glances, but Signas nodded curtly. The king ushered them both inside and seated them both at the solar’s table by the fire.

            “Now, Prince Zero,” he said, pulling his chair up and clasping his hands on top of the table. “What did you wish to discuss?”

            As Zero looked between the two of them, he thought that all his words might leave him, but he spoke in an unexpectedly calm voice. “I wondered if there has been any progress made in investigations on the assassination attempts,” he said.

            Signas frowned. “We would have informed you if we had located the perpetrator, Your Highness,” he said.

            Zero shook his head. “But, any progress? Any leads?”

            The King shifted in his seat, the crease in his brow deepening. “Everything we found has been traced right back here, within the castle. We’ve met dead ends.” He fixed Zero with a concerned expression. “Why do you ask now, Zero? There haven’t been any incidents in more than three weeks. The arrow in the woods could easily have been an accident, too.”

            Zero rubbed his hands together to relieve the numbness. His heart was pounding in his throat. “I… I had a conversation with Sigma which led me to believe he... he might feel more than just dislike for me.”

            Captain Signas’ expression was stern. “What exactly are you insinuating?”

            “I… I think he might be the one behind the attempted assassinations. He might be trying to stir a war between our countries.”

            The two men exchanged looks again, and Zero sat forward urgently, realizing how ridiculous his claims must sound. “How much of Abel’s army does Duke Sigma control? Where?”

            Signas eyed him warily. “The Duke controls the farther reaches of the country. The area where the territorial disputes have been raised.”

            Zero stared at Signas as his heart skipped a few beats. How had no-one thought to tell him this? It was _Sigma_ ’s land… His people…

            “Zero, Sigma is an old-fashioned man. He would as soon settle this with war as you would. Surely you understand, now, why he feels some animosity toward you. But that’s no reason to believe that he would make repeated attempts to _kill_ you. The wedding is not so far away. Soon this will be nothing more than a memory.” The King leaned forward to pat Zero’s hand comfortingly, but Zero jerked back.

            “I don’t _want_ war anymore,” he said desperately. “But that’s precisely why I think it needs to be looked into. Didn’t you say that the assassination attempts led back to the castle itself? Sigma has been here for weeks now. He could have—”

            “Enough.”

            Zero stuttered to a halt. The King’s tone was terribly stern, his expression dark.

            “Duke Sigma is a longstanding member of Abel royalty and one of the most loyal military leaders I have ever worked with. I have no reason to distrust him, especially not without concrete proof. Now, kindly return to your chambers. Captain Signas and I have other matters to discuss.”

            Zero began to rise from his seat, speechless, when suddenly a clamor came up outside. He made brief eye contact with Signas before all three of them shoved their chairs back. They rushed to the door and threw it open to find guards spilling past. Shrieks rang out in the halls.

            _Fire_ , they cried. _Prince X’s chambers are on fire_.


	10. Shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's FINALLY continuing orz, thank you everyone for your infinite patience with me. I managed to finish this chapter using writing as a refuge from the huge workload I have right now. I hope that I'll be able to finish this after my portfolio is done.
> 
> Also, I changed my username slightly because I don't want this account to be affiliated with my professional name :') It's still me, though!

Later, Zero would barely be able to remember what had happened in those moments of panic. He could recall rushing to X’s chambers, shoving his way through the crowd with the prince’s name on his lips. He remembered the smoke billowing from the doors, the horrid coughing as X was dragged from the flaming room before his eyes, clothes crumbling with char.

            Hands had seized Zero, pulling him away, and he had fought against it, but there were too many as a flood of physicians descended upon X, propping him up, holding cups billowing with steam to soothe the coughing… Zero was pressed against the wall across the hallway as servant upon servant was ushered in and out with buckets of water and soil to douse the flames. His vision had grown blurry with tears and anxiety.

            X was finally beginning to stir, sitting up as he coughed, when King Light’s booming voice cut a path for himself through the crowd. The king waved the physicians away and took X’s wrist, pulling him to his feet. Zero thought he had never seen the king’s face look so heavy with worry as the man turned and grabbed his arm as well. Light pulled the two princes along, holding them both in a strong grip as he steered them away from the crowds and to his own chambers. Zero saw him glance furtively around as he shut the door behind them.

            He began moving about the room, collecting up bags and throwing miscellaneous items into them as he spoke urgently.

            “This is too much, simply too much. Until the wedding, you must be kept safe. You have to go to the haven.” He fixed X with a careful look. “You recall the way?”

            X nodded. He swayed on his feet, eyes unfocused, presumably still dizzy from smoke.

            King Light frowned and continued his preparations before finally loading the supplies into Zero’s hands. At last, he held up a heavy iron key and passed it to X.

            “The royal family has a small fortress in the event of an emergency, a hidden place away from the palace. There is a stock of supplies there,” said King Light, already pulling them toward the wall where the crest of Abel hung. He tugged it off the wall and it hit the floor with a crash, revealing a dark opening in the wall. A staircase descended into utter darkness. Zero stared in shock, but Light was already pushing him inside.

            “I see I should have taken this more seriously, but it is a matter we will discuss later. Go, now. The way there is safe. No-one but the royal family knows of it. I will send someone after you in the morning once this is all quieted down. Please, go!”

            There was knocking at the door. King Light cursed, throwing a hard look at Zero, who took the hint and helped X into the passageway before scrambling inside himself. The king replaced the crest behind them. As it was hung on its pegs and then dropped into place, the last slivers of light disappeared, drenching the two princes in darkness.

            They held their breath as they listened. There were the voices in King Light’s room, indecipherable through the wall. Zero didn’t dare move or make a sound while there were strangers mere feet away. But the sounds eventually fell silent as the king evidently followed the messengers out into the room again. They heard the distant _thud_ of the door to his chambers slamming shut.

            Still they waited in silence, recovering from the shock of the last few minutes. Zero jumped as X’s fingers brushed his, but didn’t pull back as they wound into his own. X let out a string of coughs that he had evidently been struggling to hold back, and Zero’s grip tightened.

            “Are you all right?” he whispered. He realized that his whole body was trembling. He wanted to say how afraid he’d been, how worried he still was, but his heart was in his throat and he couldn’t find the words.

            “I believe so,” X responded quietly, before sucking in a ragged gasp and following it with another string of coughs. “Except for that.”

            Zero chuckled wryly, worry clawing down his back. “We should go,” he said, hiking the bags up on his shoulder. “We need to get somewhere you can rest and recover.”

            X squeezed his hand gratefully and started down the stairs.

            The floor bottomed out at what Zero assumed was the same level as the castle’s cellars—at least the air felt about as cool down here as it was between the racks of ale. As they moved further and further away from the entrance, the last vestiges of light left. Zero wondered briefly if the king had thought to include a torch in the bags, but he knew that the fumes would be suffocating in a tunnel like this one, low-ceilinged and cramped as it was. It eventually grew so dark that they had to feel their way along the walls, stepping carefully to ensure that there were no sudden drops. Zero had never been afraid of darkness, but this particular sort was _oppressive_. With no end in sight ahead or behind, Zero fought the urge to wonder if they would somehow end up lost. But X’s hand in his own kept him focused. They continued, step by step, until finally the panic started to die down and Zero realized just how tired he was. It must be evening outside by now, he realized.

            X’s coughing grew steadily worse as they continued. The air down here was thin and dry, no help for sensitive lungs. Each time a fit began, Zero’s heart twisted with anxiety. But he didn’t know what to do other than go forward, search for shelter. He tried to ask how much further it was, but X just shook his head. “I’ve never been actually there before,” he said, before breaking off into a coughing fit again.

            Zero’s legs were starting to complain, and he had no idea how long they had been walking. Two hours, now? Three? How deep was the night by this time? X was, understandably, not talkative, so as his mind finally began to function again, Zero began turning over the events of the past few hours in his mind. He was beginning to consider asking what X’s father had meant by “knowing the way” when suddenly the passageway suddenly opened up. Zero felt along the walls as they fell away on either side, a pang of panic in his chest. But X took his shoulder and steered him off to the right.

            “There’s a few tunnels, I think,” he said weakly, “but this is the way to go. Right, right, second from the left. That’s what they told me growing up.”

            Zero had nothing to hold on to except X, who seemed to be feeling his way along the right-hand wall. “Have you been down here before?” he asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

            “No. There’s never been reason to in my life,” said X. “They’re stocked every year, though… Here’s another fork.”

            As predicted, the tunnels forked twice more before, as they walked, Zero suddenly felt a cool breeze on his cheeks.

            “Fresh air,” he said, squeezing X’s hand. “We must be near the end.”

            X nodded and pressed forward with renewed determination.

            The tunnels narrowed again, enough so that Zero could reach out and touch the stone as they passed. When finally his hand along the wall met an end, he stretched out his fingers to find hard, banded wood.

“The door,” he said, letting go of his fiancé to feel around for the handle. “It’s locked.”

X, presumably, produced the key his father had given him and, after some fumbling, the lock came open with a hearty _click_. The door dragged along the ground, making horrible scraping noises, and at last they shuffled inside.

            Zero rummaged around in the bags the king had given him until he found a flint and tinder. “You stay here,” he told X, as he left his side to search around the intensely dark room for a torch bracket or even a candle. He stepped anxiously into the empty blackness, reaching out blindly. He found columns, some of which held the metal holders for torches… but no torches.

            “Over here,” came X’s voice, just as Zero was beginning to grow frustrated. “There’s a box of torches and pitch.”

            “I thought I told you to stay where you were,” Zero complained as he followed his fiancé’s voice.

            “What can I do, I’m a born rebel,” said X, and Zero choked on a laugh. He felt somewhat comforted that his fiancé was still joking, even after what had happened.

            When at last the first torch was lit and held aloft, it threw their shelter in sharp, warm relief.

            A low ceiling hung over a surprisingly clean chamber. It was obviously made with practicality in mind; decoration and furniture were sparse. But there were still expensive rugs and hangings here and there, and the torch brackets were made from fine filigree. _Still Abel, after all_ , Zero thought with a rueful smile. Along one wall were lines of barrels holding water or food packed in salt. Along the ceiling, grates let air in and out. A row of these were situated above the wall opposite the barrels, providing ventilation for a few small fireplaces.

            A hall across from where they had come in led to another storage room. This one housed bedding, medicines, and a few weapons. Two more rooms branched off in either direction, both filled with rows of bedframes.

X was coughing again.

“You need to lie down,” said Zero firmly, moving over to gather up a few quilts and pillows. X followed him to the doorway, shaking as he struggled to control his breathing. He looked up at Zero with wide eyes when he returned to his side, laden with blankets.

            “I don’t want to sleep alone,” the prince whispered.

Zero felt like his chest was melting into his ribcage at his fiancé’s expression.

“Of course,” he said, and dragged his load out to the large entryway chamber instead. He picked the least dusty fireplace in the row and began piling up bedding a safe distance from it, arranging it so that X could sit up comfortably. Then he started a low fire in the alcove and was about to let X lie down when he finally noticed in the light that the prince’s clothing was half burnt away. A few patches of shiny skin showed beneath the blackened edges.

            “You were burned,” he said, brow furrowing. X looked down in dazed surprise, as though he hadn’t even noticed it, and then started coughing again.

            Zero ran to the storage room, racking his mind for the sparse survival tactics he’d learned in his military training. After some digging, he found a honey jar—mostly crystalized, but it would have to do—and a crusty bundle of lavender. There were rows of herb jars, probably holding everything he could need, but they were frustratingly unmarked. “All these damn leaves look the same,” he muttered to himself, and finally took one that smelled vaguely minty. He emptied a bottle of sugar onto the floor and filled it with water from the barrels before returning to X’s side.

            “I… here,” he said, feeling his face growing red as he set the materials on the floor to help X out of his burned clothes. The prince’s undergarments were mostly intact. _Don’t think about it_ , Zero told himself firmly.

            X dropped onto the blankets, shivering.

            Zero paused as he noticed the trembling. Hesitantly, he reached out and put a reassuring hand on X’s shoulder.

“X… you’re safe now,” he said, in what he hoped was a soothing tone. He stroked X’s bare skin with the backs of his fingers. X looked up at him, chewing on his lip, but when he caught Zero’s gaze he seemed to relax a little. He nodded and laid back with a quiet sigh. Zero soaked a strip of cloth in water and the minty herb and instructed X to hold it to his mouth and breathe through it. The coughing slowly subsided.

            In the silence, Zero tried to focus on the task at hand. X’s burns were mostly on his arms and back—presumably where something burning had fallen on him. His bedframe, perhaps? Zero couldn’t imagine how frightening it must have been… The prince laid on his stomach while Zero mixed a makeshift salve of the honey and lavender. He spread it delicately on the inflamed skin. X flinched every so often, and when he did, the muscles in his back tensed and bunched up.

Zero hated himself for noticing it.

But the prince was surprisingly wiry. Zero reminded himself that his fiancé was an adept fighter as well… he just hadn’t gotten to see it yet, exiled as he was from the training fields.

            It was everything in his power to keep himself from staring at X’s ass.

Zero was unaccustomed to such delicate work, but it was… almost relaxing. In the moments when he lost himself in it, he felt calmer. X’s skin was perfectly smooth, and the fire cast a warm orange glow on it. It _must_ be late into the night by now, Zero thought. His eyes were beginning to droop.

            “We’re alone,” X said suddenly.

            Zero’s fingers paused at his work, and he silently berated himself for the way his heart sped up. His eyes followed the line of X’s spine up to the back of his head. A few strands of dark hair clung to his neck. Zero found himself reaching over to stroke them away.

            “You’re injured,” he replied, before pulling his hand away. X rolled onto his side and Zero made a soft sound of protest, but it died in his throat as he met the prince’s gaze. The firelight caught in his eyes, lighting them up so they glowed like a blacksmith’s furnace. Even with tired lines etched beneath, they were… beautiful.

X lifted his hand and threaded his fingers into Zero’s hair with a soft sigh. “I’m also covered in honey and ragged from smoke, so… no, I wasn’t suggesting we skip propriety _altogether_ …”

            The way his eyes trailed down Zero’s collar made him shiver.

            “… But I… I could do with a few more of your kisses than I’ve been allowed thus far,” he finished, his eyes flicking back up to meet Zero’s.

            Zero swallowed and scooted closer. He was about to mimic X’s gesture when he realized that his fingers were still sticky with honey. Cursing how easily he was distracted, he fumbled for the wet cloth to rub the salve off. By the time he was done, his hands were cold from nervous excitement. X watched him thoughtfully all the while, and sighed with relief as Zero sank down to meet him.

            The prince’s lips tasted like smoke.

            The kisses were gentle this time, slow and full of yearning. Zero’s arms shook where he held himself above X. He couldn’t decide if it was from weakness or from nerves; despite the aching slowness of it all his heart was pounding wildly. It was as if his fiancé’s mouth had unlocked a vault of emotions he hadn’t been letting himself feel up until now. Part of him wanted to seize the prince, scream that he loved him, that he was afraid, to beg him for more of the touch he hadn’t known he craved until only a few weeks ago.

After the initial rush of adrenaline, Zero suddenly felt strange with his layers of fine clothing while X was undressed, and so he pulled back to strip his own tunic and shirt off. X hummed, drinking in the sight approvingly.

“ _God_ , you’re beautiful,” he breathed, reaching out to touch the newly-bared skin. Zero deposited his outer garments on the floor beside them and sat blushing as X explored him with curious fingers.

“I’ve never been touched like this by anyone,” Zero noted, partially to fill the heady silence and partially to affirm something he hoped that X would appreciate.

“Neither have I,” X responded. His fingers trailed to Zero’s shoulders and he pulled him down to kiss him again. “I’m happy that it’s you here,” he said. “It makes me almost glad of the fire.”

            Zero nodded in agreement and lowered himself onto the blankets beside X. The two laid side by side like that for some time, saying little but simply watching each other, hands twined together. Zero realized he’d never looked into someone’s eyes quite like this, but in X there was a sort of safety in the vulnerability of it. They were bound together already, by duty and by… dare he say love?

            Zero reached up and rubbed his thumb along X’s jaw contemplatively.

            “I realized that a while ago I asked Iris a question and she never answered it.”

            X hummed, listening as he traced the faint line on Zero’s neck where sun-darkened skin turned pale.

            “I asked her why you love me,” said Zero. “She said I had to tell her why _I_ loved _you_ first… then I forgot to make her tell me what I’d originally wanted to know in the first place.”

            X chuckled. Zero’s heart flipped over as he looked at the way the prince’s lips twisted up when he smiled.

            “You’re utterly charming, Zero, in the most unexpected of ways. I think you wear your heart on your sleeve without realizing it. From the moment you set foot in the palace, I knew just how much you despised every little thing I did, and it only made me want to impress you more. And when I saw you finally coming round…” He smiled to himself. “It made it all the sweeter.”

            He looked up into Zero’s face again, quirking one eyebrow mischievously. “It certainly helps that you’re just… a wickedly beautiful creature, too.”

            Zero felt heat rushing to his face as he fumbled for how to react to such a compliment. He had always thought he didn’t look terrible in the mirror, but Maverick wasn’t the sort of place where such things were discussed or compliments were freely given. He’d never known how much of Iris’ gushing had been exaggeration.

            X shook his head. “How has no-one told you? That night you wore burgundy and gold, the way the fabric fell and caught the light every time you moved… You were so angry, but I wanted nothing more than…” he trailed off very suddenly, now blushing as well.

            “What? What did you want?” Zero pressed, squeezing his hand. It was like X’s smile was infectious; he was grinning like an idiot now.

            X shook his head. “I’ll tell you when we’re married.”

            Zero huffed, but conceded when X quieted him with another kiss.

            He didn’t keep track of how long they kept kissing after that. It became more natural after a time, and Zero’s whole body began to feel melty and happy. He didn’t protest when X twined their legs together and strayed from Zero’s mouth to kiss along his cheeks. By this point Zero didn’t know where his hands were, and he really didn’t care—the buzz of arousal was mixing sweetly with his exhaustion, and X’s lips were like a lullaby.

            “Just like this,” X breathed. “Stay with me just like this.”

            Zero nodded, and X buried his face in the prince’s neck. He sighed, and Zero felt his breath blow against his chest.

            “Really, I’m a lonely soul,” he heard X say, muffled by his own hair. His heart twisted, and a moment passed before X continued. “It’s not often we marry for love here—I was so relieved just to know that I would at least be marrying a man.”

            When X looked up, his eyes were wet. Zero felt tears threatening to surface as well. “Don’t cry,” he said, half to himself and half to X, but it was already too late.

            “And now… I don’t only love you, Zero, I _adore_ you. Perhaps it’s foolish as I’ve only known you so long, but you’re perfect to me, your fire, your strength, even your damn stubbornness, you’ll make… a wonderful king with me…” he broke off, coughing and crying, and Zero just gathered him up in his arms, barely coherent enough to be mindful of his burns, and held him tight as the fire guttered behind them and turned to embers. Eventually, the wave of emotions subsided, and X thumped his fist on Zero’s chest.

            “Don’t tell me not to cry, you bastard,” he said thickly. “You know how damn sentimental I am. I can’t help it.”

            Zero just laughed and kissed through X’s hair. “I never knew you had such a tongue on you,” he joked, “You’re always so proper in the palace.”

            X settled himself against Zero’s neck again, playing with a loose lock of Zero’s ponytail. “You’ll see what kind of tongue I have on me…”

            “Oh, don’t _start_ ,” Zero chided, half-laughing, half-groaning, and X joined in, giggling into his shoulder. “You little vixen, I’m anxious enough as it is.”

            He felt X smile. “Nine days left.”

            “Nine days,” Zero agreed. A slow silence passed after that, and eventually X’s breathing grew slow. Zero let himself relax into his fiancé’s sleeping embrace, and fell asleep soon after to the rhythm of X’s breath at his neck.

 

            When he woke again, it was to X screaming.


End file.
